Lawyers Pursuing Plea Deal for Chinese Scientist Who Smuggled Biological Pathogen Into US

The Chinese national was a researcher at the University of Michigan when she was arrested by the FBI in June.

Chinese scientist Jian Yunqing. Sanilac County Sheriff's Office via AP

Lawyers for one of the Chinese nationals accused of smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen into the United States are already in talks to try to resolve the case, according to a court document filed on June 17.

Jian Yunqing, 33, was a researcher at the University of Michigan when she was arrested on June 2 in relation to allegations that she smuggled into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.

Fusarium graminearum causes “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, according to the Department of Justice.

The American Phytopathological Society estimates that the fungal disease has cost U.S. wheat and barley farmers more than $3 billion since 1990.

In a joint filing with the court, Jian’s attorneys requested that a preliminary hearing in the case be adjourned from June 17 to Aug. 18.

“The parties are currently engaged in plea negotiations and request this additional time so that they can continue engaging in plea negotiations,” the filing reads.

According to a criminal complaint, Jian’s electronics were examined by federal agents and found to contain information describing her loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The complaint also alleged that she received funding from the CCP for her work on the fungus in China.

The complaint further states that Jian’s boyfriend, Liu Zunyong, 34, who was involved in a separate smuggling attempt, worked at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, where he conducted research on the same biological pathogen. It said he unlawfully smuggled the pathogen into the United States at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in July 2024.

After first denying it, Liu ultimately acknowledged to Customs and Border Protection agents that he was carrying different strains of Fusarium graminearum in his backpack and that he brought the pathogen in so that he could conduct research on it with his girlfriend at the University of Michigan.

The university had no federal permits to work with the material.

Liu was denied admission into the United States at the Detroit airport and sent back to China.

According to the complaint, Jian obtained her doctoral degree in plant pathogens from Zhejiang University. After graduating, she received money from a Chinese organization that is largely funded by the communist regime to conduct post-doctoral work on Fusarium graminearum, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, she was then granted a visa to conduct research as a postdoctoral scholar at a laboratory at a university in Texas between August 2022 and August 2023.

In 2023, Jian accepted a fellowship position at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (MPMI) Laboratory at the University of Michigan. The University’s official website lists her as a research fellow in Shan lab.

Jian has been charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud. She remains in custody without bond.

The Epoch Times has contacted a lawyer for Jian for comment.

In a statement, the University of Michigan said, “We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission.”

The university stated that it has received no funding from the Chinese regime in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals.

“We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution,” the statement reads.