The US ratcheted up its fight against Chinese economic espionage on Thursday, as the justice department filed criminal charges against Fujian Jinhua, a Chinese state-owned company, for the alleged theft of trade secrets from Micron, an American semiconductor manufacturer.
The indictment also named United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), a Taiwan-based chipmaker, and three individuals as allegedly participating in what Jeff Sessions, the attorney-general, called “a brazen scheme” to steal trade secrets worth up to $8.75bn.
“Chinese espionage against the United States has been increasing, and has been increasing rapidly,” said Mr Sessions at a news conference to announce the charges. “We are here to say that enough is enough.”