Two Chinese nationals were arrested and face charges for allegedly spying inside the United States on behalf of the People’s Republic of China’s government.

“Two Chinese nationals were caught spying on our Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP’s intel service,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.

“Our FBI won’t stand for it. We tracked them, we stopped them, and we’re not done yet. Espionage on U.S. soil will be met with full force,” he added.

Two Chinese nationals were caught spying on our Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP’s intel service.

Our FBI won’t stand for it. We tracked them, we stopped them, and we’re not done yet.

Espionage on U.S. soil will be met with full force. pic.twitter.com/VB6lQYuHWM

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) July 1, 2025

Fox News provided additional details:

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Chinese national Yuance Chen, who resides in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who traveled to Houston on a tourist visa in April 2025, were arrested on Friday. Both individuals face charges of overseeing and carrying out various clandestine intelligence tasks in the U.S. on behalf of the Ministry of State Security.

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Along with assisting with the recruitment of potential MSS assets and gathering intel about service members and bases, the two men are accused of facilitating a “dead drop” payment of cash on behalf of the MSS.

The FBI arrested both men on Friday – Chen was arrested in Happy Valley while Lai was arrested in Houston – with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

“FBI Houston and @houstonpolice arrested PRC national Liren Lai on 06/27 for allegedly carrying out clandestine intelligence (spy) operations. Lai sought to identify U.S. Navy personnel for potential recruitment by the Chinese Ministry of State Security,” FBI Houston wrote.

“Liren Lai and Yuance Chen allegedly facilitated ‘dead drop’ payments for U.S. national security info, contacted a Navy employee over social media, and even photographed bulletins containing names, programs, & hometowns of recent USN recruits,” it added.

Liren Lai and Yuance Chen allegedly facilitated “dead drop” payments for U.S. national security info, contacted a Navy employee over social media, and even photographed bulletins containing names, programs, & hometowns of recent USN recruits.

More here: https://t.co/1gEYUU5Ndv pic.twitter.com/8ov06Rr6H2

— FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) July 1, 2025

“Today’s arrests reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military,” Patel told Fox News Digital.

“The individuals charged were acting on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service — part of the Chinese Communist Party’s broader effort to infiltrate and undermine our institutions. Thanks to outstanding coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we disrupted those efforts and sent a clear message: the United States will not tolerate espionage on American soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless,” he added.

More from the Associated Press:

The case, filed in federal court in San Francisco and unsealed Monday, is the latest Justice Department prosecution to target what officials say are persistent efforts by the Chinese government to secretly collect intelligence about American military capabilities — a practice laid bare in startling fashion two years ago with China’s launching of a surveillance balloon that U.S. officials ultimately shot down over the coast of South Carolina.

“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the case. “The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.”

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Officials identified the defendants as Yuance Chen, 38, who arrived in the U.S. on a visa in 2015 and later became a lawful permanent resident, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, who prosecutors say lives in China but traveled to Texas this past spring and was part of an effort to supervise clandestine espionage operations on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security or MSS.

The two were arrested on charges of secretly doing China’s bidding without registering as foreign agents with the Justice Department, as required by law. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers. Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said he had no information about the specific case but asserted that allegations against China “have no facts or evidence” and that “the U.S. has never stopped its espionage activities against China.”