Agroterrorism: Chinese Couple Charged With Smuggling Crop-eating Fungus Into The U.S.

Yunqing Jian, a 33-year-old Chinese researcher at the University of Michigan, has been arrested for allegedly smuggling the fungus Fusarium graminearum, described as a "potential agroterrorism weapon," into the United States. Her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, a 34-year-old researcher at Zhejiang University in China, was also involved in the smuggling attempt but was turned away at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in July 2024 and remains in China.

Fusarium graminearum causes head blight disease in crops such as wheat, barley, corn, and rice, resulting in significant economic losses worldwide. Its toxins can cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock; and it is considered a potential agroterrorism weapon due to its destructive impact on agriculture.

Jian, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory at the University of Michigan, was arrested by the FBI and is charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud. The investigation is a joint effort of the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The 33-year-old a researcher in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, was already working with Fusarium graminearum at the University of Michigan’s Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory, which lacks federal permits to handle the pathogen.

On July 27, 2024, Liu was stopped at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Customs and Border Protection officers found four plastic baggies containing reddish plant material (identified as Fusarium graminearum) hidden in tissues in his backpack, along with a note in Chinese and a filter paper with drawn circles.

Liu initially denied knowledge of the materials but later admitted to smuggling them, knowing importation was restricted, with the intent to conduct research at the University of Michigan lab where Jian worked. Liu was denied entry and re returns to the U.S., as there is no extradition treaty with China.

Messages between Jian and Liu from 2024 suggest she was tending to the fungus in the lab before Liu’s attempt to bring additional samples.

Jian denied assisting Liu when questioned by the FBI, but electronic communications indicate they coordinated smuggling efforts, including a 2022 incident where Jian may have hidden material in her shoe and a 2024 attempt to ship samples hidden in a textbook, which was intercepted and destroyed.

The FBI found a document on Jian’s phone, a signed annual self-assessment form from Zhejiang University, where she earned her doctorate, expressing loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and outlining her research on Fusarium graminearum, funded by a Chinese government-backed foundation. Liu also received Chinese government funding for similar research.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. and FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized Jian’s CCP membership as a national security concern.

Patel stated that the case is a sobering reminder that the CCP is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target the food supply, which could have grave consequences.

Gorgon Jr., stated that the alleged actions of these Chinese nationals, including a loyal member of the CCP, are of the gravest national security concerns.

Jian appeared in court on June 3, 2025, and is scheduled for a detention hearing on June 6, 2025.

Liu was also charged, but since the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China, his arrest is unlikely unless he returns to the U.S.

The University of Michigan in a statement, strongly condemned any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security, or undermine the university’s critical public mission. They noted that they received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to the accused individuals.

The charges come amid increased scrutiny of Chinese students and researchers in the U.S., with the Trump administration looking to revoke visas for those with alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to start "aggressively" revoking the visas of Chinese students in the U.S. on national security grounds.

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. claimed it was unaware of the case but emphasized that Chinese citizens abroad must follow local laws while their rights are protected.

The case highlights ongoing concerns about biosecurity, international research ethics, and tensions surrounding academic and scientific collaborations between the U.S. and China.