Dual defence betrayal: China reveals rare case of executive spying for 2 countries

An executive at a Chinese military trading company has been arrested for leaking sensitive defence information to intelligence agencies from two countries, Beijing’s top spy and anti-espionage agency revealed on Monday.

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) regularly publicises espionage cases to raise public awareness, but the vast majority of these disclosures focus on individuals targeted by a single foreign intelligence service.

Public disclosures involving a Chinese national recruited simultaneously by multiple separate foreign intelligence agencies are extremely rare.

The MSS outlined the suspect’s case, identified only by his surname Zhang, in an article published on an official social media account.

The report did not name the two foreign countries involved, referring to them only as “country A” and “country B”. It also did not provide the name of the Chinese company or an exact timeline for the case.

According to the MSS, Zhang, fluent in foreign languages after spending years studying abroad before returning to China, was highly regarded by his employer, frequently handling international business for the arms-trading firm.