Belgium detains Chinese man on suspicion of semiconductor espionage

Prosecutors in Belgium said they have held a man with dual ⁠Chinese and Belgian ⁠nationality in pre-trial detention since May on suspicion of espionage in a case involving semiconductor technology.

The prosecutors ⁠said the 52-year-old man used to hold a senior position at Belgian microchip maker Belgan, a specialised producer of gallium nitride semiconductors which was declared bankrupt in July 2024.

The man was suspected of simultaneously acting as a director of a Chinese company that made ⁠the ⁠same kind of chips, which had been established only a few months after he joined Belgan and which was financed by a Chinese investment fund.

In that position he is suspected of illegally transferring specialised intellectual property and ⁠trade secrets abroad, all relating to the production of gallium nitride chips used in electric vehicles, aerospace and the military, the prosecutors said.

The man lives in Belgium and was arrested in May at ⁠Zaventem airport ‌where he ‌was planning to take ⁠a flight to Beijing.

Prosecutors ‌said the man remained in detention, and that a second ⁠suspect in the investigation remained ⁠at large.

The Chinese embassy in ⁠Belgium was not immediately available for comment.