A Chinese Spy Wanted GE’s Secrets, But the US Got China’s Instead

In January of last year, Arthur Gau received an email from a long lost friend in China. In the past, Gau had traveled from his home in Phoenix to speak at the NUAA, one of China's most prestigious research institutions. There is a lab studying helicopter design. Gau had heard from a man who worked at the university in an administrative role. When Gau came to give talks, Little Zha made sure he didn't have to pay for his own airfare. Zha arranged for Gau and his mother to take a Yangtze cruise before they were flooded by the Three Gorges Dam.

Zha offered Gau money to come back to China with information about specific aviation projects from his employer, but he didn't listen.