Belgium arrests suspected spy in China chip case

Belgian authorities said Monday they had arrested a suspected spy who allegedly sold a local chip-maker's trade secrets to a Chinese rival.

Federal prosecutors said the 52-year-old Chinese-Belgian national worked at Belgan, a now bankrupt Belgian producer of gallium nitride semiconductors. They said he was arrested at Brussels airport in May as he was about to board a flight to Beijing.

The prosecutor's office said there were indications that the suspect, who held a senior research position at Belgan, was also acting as a director of a Chinese company engaged in a similar manufacturing activity. Prosecutors said the Chinese company was set up a few months after he joined Belgan and was financed by a Chinese investment fund.

“The investigation may point to the unlawful transfer abroad of specialised intellectual property and trade secrets” linked to gallium nitride chip production, the prosecutor's office said. It said the technology has applications in electric vehicles, aerospace and the military.

The suspect is being held in pre-trial detention on accusations of espionage, participation in a criminal organisation, misuse of company assets and the unlawful disclosure of company secrets. Prosecutors said they are still looking for a second suspect, also a Chinese national.

The case stems from Belgan's bankruptcy in 2024, which affected more than 400 workers. It is the second China-related espionage case to emerge in Belgium in recent months, after authorities said in July that they had arrested a Canadian citizen of Chinese origin suspected of espionage while interning at NATO.