Two Chinese nationals charged with smuggling toxic fungus into U.S.

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with conspiracy and smuggling after attempting to bring a toxic fungus that is a “dangerous biological pathogen” into the United States, the Justice Department said.

The U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan accused Yunqing Jian, a researcher at the University of Michigan, and Zunyong Liu, a researcher at Zhejiang University in China, of working together to smuggle into the United States samples of Fusarium graminearum, which it described as a “noxious fungus.”

The fungus causes head blight disease in wheat, barley, corn and other crops, affecting crop quality and yield. Outbreaks have been reported in several countries.

The toxins produced by the fungus can cause vomiting and liver damage, and an article in a science journal described the fungus as “a potential agroterrorism weapon that could be used for targeting food crops,” according to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Edward Nieh.

According to the affidavit, Liu, 34, and Jian, 33, were both studying biological pathogens that can infect crops, with Jian working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Prosecutors said Liu attempted to smuggle samples of the fungus from China into the U.S. in July 2024 while visiting Jian, his girlfriend.

They said Liu was stopped at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and questioned by Customs and Border Protection officers, who searched his backpack and found four transparent plastic bags containing different strains of Fusarium graminearum, concealed inside a wad of crumpled tissues.

According to the FBI affidavit, Liu initially told officers he didn’t know how the samples got into his bag. After further probing, he told CBP officers that he hid the samples “because he knew there were restrictions on the importation of the materials,” and that he planned to clone the strains to make more samples and to conduct research on the samples at the laboratory where his girlfriend worked.

When interviewed by FBI agents, Jian claimed she knew nothing about Liu’s smuggling, but electronic communications between the couple indicated they communicated beforehand about shipping biological material “commonly used for academic research” and that they may have worked together to smuggle seeds into the U.S. in August 2022, the affidavit states.

Liu was deported to China, while Jian was arrested and appeared in court on Tuesday. A public defender assigned to her case did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post early Wednesday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the University of Michigan said, “we strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission. It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals. We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution.”

Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said Jian and Liu “exploited their access to laboratory facilities … to engage in the smuggling of biological pathogens, an act that posed an imminent threat to public safety.”

FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on Tuesday that Jian was arrested. He said “evidence indicates” that she “expressed loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party and had received funding from the Chinese government for similar work on this pathogen in China.”

The FBI affidavit states that agents who searched Jian’s laptop found a document she signed containing a statement of support for and membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Almost 100 million Chinese citizens are CCP members, and membership is often considered a requirement for career advancement in China, including for people working in academia.

Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, was asked about the case in a news briefing Wednesday. He said he was not aware of it, adding that “the Chinese government has always told its citizens abroad to obey local laws and regulations, and will protect the lawful rights and legitimate interests of Chinese citizens abroad.”

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” The State Department accused the CCP of exploiting American universities or stealing U.S. technologies. The move has plunged thousands of Chinese students in the United States into uncertainty.

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• Lyric Li contributed.