Chinese Nationals Arrested for Smuggling Dangerous 'Biological Pathogen' Into US

Federal authorities in Detroit on Tuesday announced charges against a Chinese scholar at the University of Michigan and her boyfriend, a scientific researcher, for allegedly conspiring to smuggle a dangerous biological pathogen into the U.S.—a pathogen capable of damaging agricultural crops and causing illness in humans and livestock.

University of Michigan scholar Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, both Chinese citizens, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., making false statements, and visa fraud, interim Detroit U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced.

According to the criminal complaint, Jian received Chinese government funding to work on the dangerous pathogen in China. A pathogen is a microorganism or biological agent that can cause disease or illness.

In this case, the pathogen is a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which can cause “head blight,” a disease that affects wheat, barley, maize, and rice. It is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The toxins produced by Fusarium graminearum can also cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.

The criminal complaint alleges that Jian’s boyfriend, Liu, works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen. Authorities allege that he initially lied but later admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. through Detroit Metropolitan Airport on July 27, 2024, with the intent of conducting research on it at the University of Michigan laboratory where Jian had been working since 2023.

An FBI affidavit filed Tuesday stated that Liu was interviewed at the airport by Customs and Border Patrol agents, and eventually admitted materials found in his backpack were different strains of the pathogen Fusarium graminearum. He also admitted that he intended to use the U-M lab to conduct research with the biological materials found in his backpack.

He initially told authorities that he had come to Michigan to visit his girlfriend.

"After LIU’s smuggling of the biological pathogen, FBI Agents interviewed Jian who falsely claimed that she knew nothing about Liu’s smuggling or his intent to conduct research on the pathogen at the laboratory during his visit," according to the FBI affidavit.

"In fact, an examination of electronic communications between Liu and Jian shows that the two discussed the shipping of biological materials and research being done in the laboratory prior to Lius’s arrival," the affidavit said. "Electronic evidence also shows that Jian has been involved in smuggling packages of biological material into the United States on prior occasions."

A brief bio of Jian on a University of Michigan website titled "Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Working Groups" states:

Yunqing Jian is from Sichuan, China. She received her Ph.D. at Zhejiang University in 2020 and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship there. During her Ph.D. training, she studied the mechanisms by which fungi combat plant-derived stresses. She joined our lab in August 2022 as a postdoc, and her research mainly focuses on the evolutionary perspective of RLKs and their ligands.

“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals—including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party—are of the gravest national security concerns," said U.S. Attorney Gorgon in a statement. "These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon said in a statement:

“Today’s criminal charges against Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu highlight CBP’s critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate our agricultural economy and cause harm to humans—especially when it involves a researcher from a major university attempting to clandestinely bring potentially harmful biological materials into the United States.”