Canadian police say a public utility worker at Hydro Quebec has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested Yusheng Wang, 35, on Monday and charged him with espionage.
Mr. Wang “obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China, and harm Canada’s economic interests,” police said in a statement.
He will appear in court in Longueuil, Quebec, on Tuesday to face four criminal charges.
The resident of Candac, a suburb south of Montreal, is charged with obtaining trade secrets, unauthorized use of a computer, breach of trust by a public official and fraud to obtain trade secrets.
The offenses allegedly took place between February 2018 and October 2022.
Mr Wang worked on batteries for the utility’s Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage (CETEES), which develops technology for electric vehicles, a company statement said.
RCMP Inspector David Beaudoin said Mr. Wang used his position at Hydro-Québec to conduct research for a Chinese university and other research centers.
He said he allegedly published scientific articles and filed patents “with this foreign actor instead of HydroQuébec.”
An investigation against Mr. Wang was launched in August 2022 after the company’s internal security branch filed a complaint.
“Our detection and intervention procedures allowed our investigators to bring this matter to the attention of the RCMP, with whom we have worked closely ever since,” a Hydro Quebec security official said in a statement. A security official at Hydro-Québec added in a statement that “no organization is safe. A situation like this”.
The public utility company manages the generation, transmission and storage of electricity for the province of Canada and also exports electricity to parts of the United States.
According to the company’s website, it is the largest power utility in Canada.
An RCMP statement called it a priority for them and law enforcement and intelligence agencies worldwide to “detect and disrupt foreign intrusion attempts.”
“HydroQuébec is considered a critical infrastructure and a strategic interest that must be protected,” the investigators said.
“The RCMP and its partners are working closely with at-risk sectors to improve Canada’s response and resilience to this threat.”
In the coming weeks, Canada is expected to announce a new Indo-Pacific strategy. Earlier this month, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said the country would seek to deepen ties with other partners in Asia.
“China is an increasingly disruptive global power,” he warned Canadian companies in a speech not to get too entangled in Chinese business.
“What I would say to Canadians in China and doing business with China: You need to keep a clear eye,” Ms. Jolly said.
