Two Chinese researchers were charged with smuggling a biological pathogen that they planned to study at a University of Michigan lab, a complaint filed Tuesday says.
The charges come as the Trump administration is cracking down on Chinese students studying in the United States and citing alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party in its ongoing fight with academic institutions.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements and visa fraud for bringing in the fungus Fusarium graminearum from China, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“The Department of Justice has no higher mission than keeping the American people safe and protecting our nation from hostile foreign actors who would do us harm,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
2 Chinese researchers charged with smuggling biological pathogen to study at University of Michigan labhttps://t.co/b2z3HOpvuf
— Kayla Michele Roth (@Kayla_M_Roth) June 4, 2025
