24 arrests by US arising from China's thefts of tech, research, and trade secrets

At the US Department of Justice's China Initiative Conference,  officials unveiled Justice Department figures showing a sharp rise in the number of China-related arrests, corresponding with what the U.S. government sees as an urgent threat to American economic prosperity and intellectual property, federal law enforcement officials said.
There were 24 China-related arrests in the last fiscal year, up from 15 five years earlier, and there have been 19 to date in the current fiscal year, the Justice Department said.
Officials described law enforcement and intelligence efforts to counter China's targeting of corporate trade secrets and academic research, including defense information, software for wind turbines and high-end medical technology.

In recent years, U.S. officials say, China has relied not only on hacking to steal information but also on recruitment of scientists and other individuals.
"The long-term existential threat to the security of our nation is real,'' said Bill Evanina, the U.S. government's top counterintelligence executive.
An email sent to the Chinese Embassy seeking comment was not returned on Thursday.
The U.S. officials highlighted a series of prosecutions over the last year that they say underscore the threat, including the recent arrest of a hospital researcher in Boston accused of attempting to smuggle biological material from a laboratory to China.-AP