Two US Army soldiers charged with selling military secrets to China

Two active-duty and one former U.S. Army soldiers were arrested on Thursday for allegedly stealing classified materials from the military and selling them to conspirators in China. 

Ruoyo Duan — who served in the military from 2013 until 2017 — and 1st Lt. Li Tian were charged with conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property. Jian Zhao, a battery supply sergeant, faces the same charges, as well as conspiring to obtain and transmit national defense information to an individual not authorized to receive it.

Both Zhao and Tian were stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, according to separate federal grand jury indictments. 

From late 2021 until the end of 2024, Duan and Tian — a health services administrator at the base — conspired to sell classified information, including  technical materials, prosecutors said. Tian sent the documents to Duan, who then passed them abroad and paid Tian a fee, they allege.

“Specifically, Tian was tasked with gathering information related U.S. military weapon systems, including information related to the Bradley and Stryker U.S. Army fighting vehicles,” the Department of Justice said.  

Zhao, who was described in a report as responsible for the supplies and equipment of his brigade and “over 55 million dollars of Army property,” allegedly began disseminating sensitive materials in July 2024. Messages documented in the indictment show him arranging to procure and ship hardware including dozens of encrypted hard drives and other military computers. 

Zhao allegedly moved on to sensitive documents, including about weapons systems, as well as military exercises like conflict simulations with China.

At one point, Zhao promised a middleman he had "good stuff" that is "super difficult to get" but he wanted an appropriate price for it. 

"In these couple of years, anything that touches himars, 3-4000 is the starting price," he allegedly said, referring to a rocket launcher used by the U.S. Army. 

After negotiations, Zhao allegedly eventually settled on $2,500 for “One copy,” imploring his contact: "Go talk to others about the price for the rest."

This is not the first prosecution related to spying on behalf of the Chinese government at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Sgt. Joseph Daniel Schmidt was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2023 on charges of retaining and attempting to deliver national defense information.

After leaving the Army in 2020, Schmidt allegedly repeatedly approached the Chinese security services, offering up “a device that allows for access to secure military computer networks,” the DOJ said. Schmidt was reportedly found mentally unfit to stand trial last year.