German couple arrested in Munich on suspicion of spying for China

German federal prosecutors on Wednesday arrested a married German couple in Munich on suspicion of working for a Chinese intelligence service to obtain high-tech information with military applications, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwaltschaft) said.

The suspects, identified as Xuejun C. and Hua S., are accused of building contacts with university professors in aerospace, IT and artificial intelligence, prosecutors said in a statement. To gain access, they posed as translators and employees of a German car parts supplier.

"Some scientists were lured to China on the premise of delivering lectures to the civilian audiences for remuneration," prosecutors alleged. "In reality, these presentations then took place in front of associates of state-run weapons companies."

The couple was taken to the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) in Karlsruhe on Wednesday, where an investigative judge opened the arrest warrants and ordered them held in pretrial detention, a spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor said.

Simultaneous operations took place in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, targeting individuals who had contact with the suspects. Those contacted are considered witnesses, not suspects, prosecutors said. Eight universities are affected by the measures.

The Munich residences and workplaces of the suspects were searched.

The arrests come amid longstanding warnings by German counterintelligence about Chinese espionage targeting technology and scientific knowledge. In May 2025, the Federal Prosecutor charged three German nationals before the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf for allegedly operating a company to establish contact with companies and research institutions on behalf of Chinese intelligence, a case that later saw the espionage charge dropped but continued under foreign trade law.