Chinese national pleads guilty to trying to export US military equipment to China
A Chinese citizen faces up to 20 years in US federal prison after pleading guilty on Monday to attempting to purchase US-made military equipment to export to China, in violation of US arms export controls, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Chen Dingwei, 29, was charged with attempting to purchase military-grade satellite modems and radios manufactured for the US military by US…
A Chinese man, Chen Dingwei, has pleaded guilty to attempting to export U.S. military equipment to China, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The 29-year-old faces up to 20 years in federal prison as he was charged with trying to purchase satellite modems and radios used by the U.S. military, which are banned from being exported to China under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.
The DOJ accused Chen of attempting to divert sensitive US military technologies to China which could be used against the U.S. in the future. The equipment in question includes military-grade satellite modems and radios made by U.S. companies L3Harris, Viasat and Comtech. Chen and unnamed co-conspirators tried to acquire these items from foreign arms dealers on the black market between March and October last year.
They made contact with a Switzerland-based "armourer" with a U.S.-based subsidiary to discuss smuggling methods through Saipan and Mexico. Chen was arrested in Saipan on October 6, 2025, when he went to pick up the modems. The case highlights the ongoing efforts by both the U.S. and China to restrict the flow of critical technologies and military equipment.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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