WASHINGTON — Two Chinese nationals were to appear before a US federal court Monday on charges of trying to smuggle military-related items from the United States to China, the Justice Department said.
Hong Wei Xian, 32, and Li Li, 33, were charged in a two-count indictment of conspiring to violate the US Arms Export Control Act.
The men are alleged to have tried to secretly ship thousands of radiation-hardened microchips to China between April 2009 and September 1, 2010.
Hong and Li allegedly divided their illegal shipments into small parcels mailed via third-party countries to avoid drawing attention to the orders.
The pair were arrested in Hungary last September and arrived back in the United States last week following extradition.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and 20 years in prison on the export violation charge.
According to the indictment, Xian is the president of Beijing Starcreates Space Science and Technology Development Company Limited, and Li is the company's vice president, a Justice Department statement said.
Beijing Starcreates imports and sells programmable read-only memory microchips to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which is controlled by the Beijing government and plays a major role in the research and production of strategic and tactical missile systems and launch vehicles.
The US government since 1990 has enforced an arms embargo prohibiting the export or transfer of any defense article to China, including spacecraft systems and related equipment.
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