BERLIN – An aide to a German far-right politician standing in June’s European Union elections has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors said on April 23.

The man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at the European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany.

On the website of the European Parliament, Jian Guo is listed as an accredited assistant to Member of the European Parliament Maximilian Krah, the far-right AfD party’s lead candidate in the forthcoming EU-wide elections.

He is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Mr Krah in Brussels since 2019.

The suspect “is an employee of a Chinese secret service”, prosecutors said.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.

“He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.”

The suspect was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on April 22 and his homes were searched, they added.

The accused lives in both Dresden and Brussels, according to broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR, who broke the news about the arrest.

The AfD said the allegations were “very disturbing”.

“As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors,” party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf said in a statement.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on April 23 called the spying allegations “extremely serious”.

“If it is confirmed that someone spied for China in the European Parliament, this is an attack from within on European democracy,” she said in a statement.

“Anyone who employs such an employee also bears responsibility for this,” she added.

But Beijing said on April 23 the allegations were designed to “smear and suppress” China.

“We are aware of the reports and related hype,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

“The intention of this kind of hype is very obvious... It is to smear and suppress China and to destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe,” he said.

The case is likely to fuel concern in the West about aggressive Chinese espionage.

It comes after Germany on April 22 arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.

According to German media, the two cases are not connected.

In Britain, two men were charged with handing over “articles, notes, documents or information” to China between 2021 and 2023.

Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the British Parliament as a researcher. AFP