Federal prosecutors indicate that the pair planned to research the deadly pathogen at the University of Michigan. Two Chinese nationals have been accused by US federal prosecutors of smuggling into the United States a deadly fungus, which authorities say can be converted into an “agroterrorism weapon.”.
The allegations against Jian Yunqing, 33, and Liu Zunyong, 34, two Chinese researchers, were made public by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan on Tuesday. The duo also faces conspiracy charges, visa fraud and making false statements to investigators.
The prosecutors say Liu brought in the fungus, known as Fusarium graminearum, to be able to conduct research at a University of Michigan lab where his girlfriend, Jian, was employed.
Fusarium graminearum produces “head blight”, a crop disease in wheat, barley, maize and rice, and is “responsible for billions of dollars in worldwide economic losses annually”, the prosecutors charge.
The pathogen also threatens humans and livestock, and can lead to “vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects. Jian was previously arrested by the FBI and is set to appear in federal court this week, where her connections to the Chinese government are also being questioned at a time of heightened paranoia within the US government regarding potential Chinese infiltration.
Jian allegedly received funding from the Chinese government to research the same toxic fungus in China, according to the charges. The Associated Press news service, quoting the FBI, reported that Liu was returned to China from Detroit in July 2024 after customs officials at the airport discovered the fungus in his backpack. He subsequently confirmed he had brought the material into the US to conduct research at the University of Michigan, where he had formerly worked with his girlfriend, the AP reported.
In the course of their inquiry, the FBI discovered an article on Liu’s phone entitled “Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions”. There were also messages between the couple’s phones that showed Jian knew of the smuggling operation and subsequently lied to the investigators about being aware of it.
