"Agroterrorism": US Charges Two Chinese Nationals For Smuggling Harmful Biological Pathogen (Photo on X@WarHorizon)
United States: The US Department of Justice has charged two Chinese nationals for allegedly smuggling a harmful biological pathogen into the United States. The duo reportedly planned to conduct research at an American university with the hazardous substance, and are now facing serious allegations including conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud.
The accused scientists have been identified as Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, and the officials alleged that the duo conspired to smuggle the fungus. The fungus is called Fusarium graminearum and is capable of inflicting “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice. According to the FBI, the fungus is classified as a “potential agroterrorism weapon” in scientific literature. This fungus is reportedly associated with billions of dollars economic losses around the world.
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The fungus also produces toxins that causes various harms, including liver damage and reproductive defects, it pointed out.
Who Are The Two Chinese Smugglers – Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu?
The two Chinese researchers – Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu – reportedly received funding from the Chinese government for their research on this pathogen in China. Jain has membership and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), while her boyfriend also works at a Chinese university and conducts research on the same fungus.
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According to the complaint, Liu smuggled the fungus into the US through Detroit Metropolitan Airport in July 2024 to continue research at the University of Michigan laboratory. The FBI said that Liu was turned away at the Detroit airport and sent back to China after changing his story during an interrogation about red plant material discovered in his backpack in 2024.
The agency claimed that though Liu initially pretended ignorance about the samples, he later said he was planning to use the material for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked and where Liu had previously worked.
Notably, the FBI alleges that messages between the couple showed that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the campus lab before Liu was caught at the Detroit airport, despite the fact that the university does not have federal permits to handle it. The agency also stated it found a scientific article on Liu’s phone that was titled, “Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions,” suggesting a more serious nature of the smuggling.
While Jian remains in a US jail awaiting a bond hearing on Thursday, Liu’s arrest will be unlikely as he is in China and the US does not have an extradition treaty with the South Asian country.
US Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. has described the smuggling of the fungus into the United States as a national security issue, especially given Jian’s membership of the Chinese Communist Party. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.
