Far-right German politician’s former aide jailed for spying for China

A German man who used to work for a far-right member of the European Parliament has been jailed for spying for China. Jian Guo was sentenced to four years and nine months on Tuesday, according to the news agency dpa. The Higher Regional Court of Dresden found the former aide to Maximilian Krah, a controversial but high-profile member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, guilty of passing information about parliamentary negotiations and decisions to contacts in China’s intelligence services for almost five years until he was arrested in April last year. While German media described him only as “Jian G” under domestic naming rules, international media are free to use his full name. He had denied the charges, but prosecutors told the court he had worked for Chinese intelligence services for more than 20 years since 2002. As well as gathering information in the European Parliament, he was accused of spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany and passing on information about leading members of the AfD. The party has been surging in recent polls amid a rise in support for far-right parties across the continent. Krah denied any knowledge of his former aide’s activities. According to evidence presented by prosecutors, Jian Guo collected 500 sensitive documents from the parliament, from 2019 to 2024. During that time, Krah sat on several sensitive committees, including foreign affairs, international trade, security and defence and human rights, European Parliament records show. A second defendant, a Chinese national named only as Yaqi X, was given a suspended sentence of one year and nine months. Prosecutors had sought more than seven years’ prison time for Guo, who was accused of being the handler for Yaqi X. Yaqi X had admitted passing Guo information about flight and cargo operations at Leipzig airport, which she had gleaned from her work for a logistics firm. Prosecutors said she had passed on information about military aircraft, troops and drones, including those shipped to Israel. China’s missions to Germany and the European Union, as well as the foreign ministry in Beijing, have yet to respond to requests for comment. Previously, the ministry dismissed reports of espionage in Europe as efforts to “smear and suppress China”. Krah was barred from running for re-election to the European Parliament last year by his own party, after he said that members of the Nazi paramilitary group the SS should not be automatically deemed “war criminals”. Despite that, he returned to frontline politics this year as an AfD member of the federal parliament, the Bundestag, in an election where the far-right party took the second highest number of seats. Krah is under investigation for corruption and this month the parliament lifted his immunity, allowing his offices in Berlin, Brussels and Dresden, as well as his home, to be searched and devices seized. The AfD has, in recent years, become among the biggest supporters of a reset in Europe’s deteriorating ties with China and last year sent an official delegation to Beijing for the first time. The spying conviction, meanwhile, will add to concerns in Europe about Beijing interfering in politics. Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies was last year implicated in a high-profile bribery investigation, also involving the European Parliament. Earlier this year the company said it had “a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing” and was committed to complying with all applicable laws. Even so, the parliament is on the cusp of restoring normal ties with the Chinese national legislature, the National People’s Congress, which is sending a delegation to Brussels later this month for the first official dialogue in seven years. The German chairman of the EU legislature’s China delegation, Engin Eroglu, met the Chinese ambassador to the EU, Cai Run, on Monday to prepare for the talks, the German lawmaker said. “More than seven years have passed since the last official parliamentary dialogue between the EU and China. Now – following the lifting of arbitrary sanctions against members and former members of the European Parliament – we have the opportunity to resume structured and official exchanges,” Eroglu wrote on social media. “The challenges ahead are significant: from human rights to economic interdependence, and from global security to geopolitical tensions. Particularly in light of the recent images of President Xi alongside Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un [at Beijing’s recent Victory Day parade], it is crucial that Europe speaks with its own clear, responsible and independent voice.”

Far-right German politician’s former aide jailed for spying for China

Jian Guo, who used to work for the controversial lawmaker Maximilian Krah, was jailed for more than four years by a court in Dresden