Chinese Students Smuggle Pathogenic Fungus Into the US, Allegedly for Research Purposes

Two Chinese national students attempted to smuggle into the US a pathogenic fungus under the alleged pretense of using it for research at the University of Michigan. 

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, “Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud.”

The smuggled fungus is known as “Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon,” the DOJ wrote. “This noxious fungus causes ‘head blight,’ a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year. Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.”

Jian reportedly received funding from China in order to work on the pathogen while researching there. This coincided with the research of her boyfriend Zunyong Liu, to be conducted at the University of Michigan:

“It is further alleged that Jian’s boyfriend, Liu, works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen and that he first lied but then admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into America—through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport—so that he could conduct research on it at the laboratory at the University of Michigan where his girlfriend, Jian, worked.”

The DOJ wrote that Jian is a loyal member of the CCP.

“Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on this pathogen in China. The complaint also alleges that Jian’s electronics contain information describing her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “Thanks to the hard work of our excellent DOJ attorneys, this defendant — who clandestinely attempted to bring a destructive substance into the United States — will face years behind bars,” the attorney general said.

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan charged Jian with a complaint, which she first addressed in court on Tuesday afternoon.

The University of Michigan claims no involvement with the students’ research nor has it received funding from China for said research, according to ABC News. 

FBI Director Kash Patel stated that Liu was arrested on Tuesday, echoing the press release of the DOJ in an X post. The FBI and CBP are both conducting an investigation into this incident.