Another Chinese National Caught Smuggling Biological Materials into the U.S.
Researcher from University Linked to China’s Defense Industry Arrested
This week, U.S. authorities arrested Chengxuan Han for smuggling biological materials into the United States. A Chinese national who planned to spend a year conducting research at the University of Michigan, Han admitted to sending four packages containing regulated biological material related to roundworms – in one instance even hidden within the pages of a book – to individuals at a University of Michigan laboratory and making false statements about those packages. Upon arrival at the Detroit Metropolitan airport, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers found that Han had wiped the contents of her phone three days before arriving in the United States from China.
Notably, Han is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, China, a research institution that is linked to China’s defense industry and hosts at least six laboratories related to defense research. Cheyvoryea Gibson, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, described Han’s actions as a “direct threat to public safety and national security” that “severely compromises the integrity of our nation’s research institutions.” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. highlighted her actions as “part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security.”
Two Other Chinese Nationals Charged Just a Week Before with Smuggling an Agricultural Pathogen
As U.S. Attorney Gorgon alluded to, Han’s illegal trafficking of biological material is just the latest example of similar behavior from Chinese nationals in sensitive higher education and research positions. The Protecting America Initiative recently drew attention to Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu – a researcher also affiliated with the University of Michigan and his girlfriend, both Chinese nationals who, days before Han’s arrest, were charged with smuggling an illegal pathogen into the United States that poses a very real threat to American agriculture. The pathogen in question – a fungus known as Fusarium graminearum – renders crop plants inedible and, left unchecked, would have not only resulted in economic losses but also posed a dangerous health risk to both humans and animals.
Altogether, Han, Jian, and Liu are just the latest examples of Chinese nationals who have taken advantage of their roles in the United States for subversive activity intended to benefit the People’s Republic of China at the expense of the United States. In 2024, five Chinese nationals also studying at the University of Michigan were caught surreptitiously surveilling a sensitive military site in Michigan and subsequently covering up their actions. And in 2019, another Chinese national working for the then-agricultural giant Monsanto was charged with smuggling proprietary secrets back to China.
Legislators React to the Latest Threat to American National Security
Faced with these latest threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its agents to American national security, the Protecting America Initiative (PAI) applauds those policymakers who are taking the problem seriously and are committed to taking meaningful action. Representative John James (R, MI-10) quickly honed in on the underlying threat and called for a comprehensive investigation into our vulnerabilities to infiltration by a foreign adversary. Similarly, Representative Zach Nunn (R, IA-3) has drafted an agroterrorism bill to specifically criminalize importing, transporting, or possessing “high-risk agricultural biological agents.”
The Protecting America Initiative Urges Policymakers to Start with Revamping Higher Education Policy
Given the multiple incidents involving Chinese nationals and the University of Michigan in particular, it is perhaps unsurprising that the university has pledged to “fully cooperate with federal investigations” and “actively review[] all relevant policies.” Although self-reflection is necessary, PAI has long identified American educational institutions as a vulnerability that adversarial nations have historically exploited and that policymakers must confront head-on. Given these latest examples of how this vector can be exploited, we urge lawmakers to take up the mantle of reform and, at a minimum, seriously consider the priorities that we have identified, including:
Requiring colleges and universities to disclose all ties to China
Developing and implementing university intellectual property protection strategies
Banning collaborations with China’s “Thousand Talents Program”
And ensuring that China has no influence in K-12 education