Belgium Fears Chinese Students In Country May Be Spying For Beijing - Intelligence

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) Chinese students in Belgium may be spying for Beijing and sharing knowledge obtained in universities with Chinese Armed Forces, the State Security Service (VSSE), Belgium's intelligence agency, said on Thursday in a report.

"These students [from China] take away the knowledge gained in Belgian universities and share it with the armed forces of their country," the report read.

According to the VSSE, students from military research institutes, like the Chinese National University of Defense Technology, are going to Western European countries, including Belgium, to learn more about the military sector.

The VSSE mentioned that dozens of "military students" from China are currently studying in universities across Belgium.

According to the report, international cooperation could put intellectual property at risk.

At the same time, Pascal Petry, the deputy head of the VSSE, said that the intelligence service is trying to identify potentially dangerous students. He added that Chinese students arrive in Belgium legally, and Brussels "needs to respect democratic values" one the one hand, but also the country needs to respond to possible dangers.