US jails two Chinese nationals for spying

What the report says

US authorities have sentenced two Chinese nationals, Liren “Ryan” Lai, 40, and Yuance Chen, 39, to 30 months in prison each after they pleaded guilty to acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government, according to a Friday statement from the US Department of Justice reported by Al Jazeera. They were also ordered to serve three years of supervised release.

Al Jazeera reported that the pair admitted to helping facilitate covert cash transfers linked to Chinese intelligence efforts, including “dead drop” payments worth at least $30,000 in total. Court documents cited in the report say they began working for China’s Ministry of State Security no later than May 2021. Lai, who was in the US on a tourist visa, allegedly recruited Chen and initially acted as an intermediary before Chen began receiving instructions directly.

The report said the men also gathered material on military-related targets, including photographs of a naval facility, military recruits and active-duty sailors. Chen reportedly collected personal information on a US Navy employee and kept biographical details on potential intelligence targets. The DOJ did not specify how many people they recruited or how often payments were made.

The case adds to broader US-China tensions over espionage and counterintelligence. The men were arrested and charged in June 2025. In general, such cases are often presented by US officials as part of efforts to disrupt foreign intelligence activity inside the country, while Beijing typically rejects accusations of espionage.