Chinese officers charged in plot to obstruct US Huawei probe

Two suspected Chinese intelligence officers have been charged with attempting to obstruct a U.S. criminal investigation of Chinese tech giant Huawei by offering bribes to someone they thought could provide inside information, the Justice Department announced Monday.
The defendants are accused of paying tens of thousands of dollars in digital currency, along with cash and jewelry, to a U.S. official they thought they had recruited as an asset. But the person was actually a double agent working for the FBI, the department said.
That prosecution, as well as two other cases involving Chinese operatives, was highlighted Monday at a news conference that featured the heads of both the FBI and the Justice Department, a rare joint presence reflecting a concerted American show of force against Chinese intelligence efforts. Washington has long accused Beijing of meddling in U.S. political affairs and stealing secrets and intellectual property.
Besides the two men on Monday, 11 other Chinese men have been charged with offenses in the last week, including harassment of individuals in the U.S., that FBI Director Christopher Wray said show that China’s “economic assaults and their rights violations are part of the same problem.”