DETROIT — Federal prosecutors in Detroit charged a Chinese national Friday who is portrayed as working for her government's spy agency while meeting with current and former U.S. government officials, the latest in a series of counterintelligence cases that have raised national security concerns.

Di Jin, 41, a resident of Tianjin Municipality in northern China, was charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI counterintelligence case involves alleged lies, an airport confrontation and claims that Jin was working for the Chinese government while trying to meet with current and former U.S. government officials.

". . . Jin ultimately admitted that she had conducted intelligence gathering work in the United States on behalf of (Chinese) intelligence officials who, in turn, allegedly assisted her with her business interests in China," an FBI counterintelligence agent wrote in the criminal case.

Jin, the general manager of Tianjin Smart City Technology Co., Ltd. who also is known as Sophie Jin and Xin Sui, has entered the U.S. on B1/B2 temporary visitor visas at least seven times since 2013.

Her lawyer, Natasha Webster, did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment.

The case was filed two weeks after prosecutors in Detroit charged a Chinese national studying at a college in Canada. Weiheng Zeng was charged after federal authorities said he admitted to trespassing at properties near airports to take photos of airplanes that he sent to a mysterious figure whom he believed to be an employee of the Chinese government.

It is unclear whether the two cases are related.

The case against Jin emerged Sept. 8 when she tried to enter the U.S. at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. She told customs officials she planned to meet an 81-year-old friend in Washington, D.C. a former U.S. government official referred to in court filings as "Government Contact 1." The official, however, told investigators he was unaware of her travel to the U.S.

However, Government Contact 1 also indicated that he believed Jin may potentially be an “informer” to the (Chinese) government," an FBI special agent wrote in the criminal case filing.

During additional questioning, Jin told investigators she owned two unprofitable companies that she funded by earning fees for connecting politicians and officials to businesses. During her visit, Jin said she planned to meet the government contact and take photos "on the street," according to court records.

But FBI agents had reviewed a message she sent to the government official in April indicating: “Xi’s team just came to (her)” about topics that included procurement, rare earth metals, U.S. Treasury bonds, trade mechanisms and tariff exemption for billions of non-sensitive goods.

The court filing does not elaborate and it is unclear if "Xi's team" was a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Amid further questioning, Jin told investigators that officials with a think tank that she believed was tied to the Chinese government asked her to travel to Washington to gather unspecified information, according to the court filing

"She said she had reported previous U.S. trips to this 'think tank' through a Chinese contact who used a fake name and told her to delete their messages before travel, which she did a few days before this trip," the FBI agent wrote.

Jin later told agents she had been approached by local intelligence officials with the Ministry of State Security as early as 2012. The ministry, known as MSS, is an institution similar to the FBI and Central Intelligence Agency, the agent wrote.

"Around that time, she had been a participant in a pilot training program in Los Angeles," the agent wrote. "Jin stated that MSS intelligence officers directed her to obtain information from a specific event in the United States and to provide the information to the MSS when she returned to" China.

In 2024, Jin said she met with intelligence officers in Shanghai, court records allege. They sent her to the U.S. later that year to meet with two government contacts and two former U.S. government officials.

"Prior to her departure from (China), Jin stated she met with Shanghai intelligence officers in Shanghai and received directions to obtain information related to Chinese and U.S. relations from her four contacts," the agent wrote.

"Jin stated the Shanghai intelligence officers provided her a cover story if she was questioned while in the United States," the agent added. "They instructed her to state she worked with a 'think tank' in Beijing."

Investigators searched Jin's three cell phones this week and found messages with at least two of the U.S. government contacts, according to the FBI.

In a message from July 2024, one government contact sent the following message:

"Don’t think you should come now — altho it would be great to see you. It may not be safe for me. How many players are in this game? I believe you are what you say — a business woman, not intel agent. How can we be sure you aren’t being tracked, not only by Chinese Intelligence. This could bring me under security scrutiny. I don’t want to do anything that could raise doubts & give appearance of being disloyal to my oath & to the US."

Jin returned to the U.S. in June 2025, according to the FBI.

"She again received directions to obtain information related to Chinese and U.S. relations from her four contacts," the FBI agent wrote. "She again indicated that she ultimately met with Government Contact 1 and Government Contact 2 and again reported regarding information she learned after her return."

Jin met again with one of the government contacts in March 2026 in the U.S., the criminal case alleged.

But she said this week's trip was not at the behest of the Shanghai intelligence officers.

"However, Jin's earlier statements to FBI agents were inconsistent with this denial," the FBI agent wrote. "Jin stated at the time of this trip, her contact at the 'think tank' (which she later admitted was a cover for Shanghai Intelligence Officers) contacted her by phone prior to her departure from the PRC.

"Jin stated they had planned an in-person meeting that was canceled at the last minute," the agent added. "Jin stated that the 'think tank' individuals again asked her to provide any information she obtained from Washington, D.C."

Several Chinese nationals have been charged with federal crimes in Detroit in recent years.

That includes at least seven Chinese nationals with ties to the University of Michigan. The criminal cases have unfolded amid plans by the Trump administration to revoke Chinese student visas nationwide, and the arrests have raised concerns about whether Chinese nationals are part of a campaign by the Chinese government to terrorize the U.S. agricultural industry and meddle in elections.

____

©2026 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.