European security services are investigating a former Politico reporter for working as a Chinese spy.
The unnamed reporter, who is based in Brussels, Belgium, “is suspected of using their position as a journalist to cultivate potential targets working in Brussels-based international organisations, including by making sexual overtures towards officials in these institutions,” European news site Euractiv reported, citing officials from three intelligence agencies.
It is unclear whether the reporter’s departure from Politico stemmed from the espionage investigation. A Politico spokesman said European authorities have not contacted the company and that it “does not comment on personnel departures as these are confidential personnel matters,” according to Euractiv.
The investigation comes amid mounting scrutiny of the Chinese Communist Party’s espionage operations, with Chinese nationals facing arrests and convictions across the United States and Europe.
In August 2025, a federal jury convicted Jinchao Wei, an active-duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed at San Diego’s naval base, on multiple counts of espionage and illegal export of defense-related technical data to the Chinese government. Wei “agreed to sell Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000,” according to the Department of Justice.
Weeks earlier, the DOJ charged two Chinese citizens with acting as agents of China’s Ministry of State Security for recruiting U.S. military personnel and gathering intelligence. In March, the DOJ also announced a series of charges against 12 Chinese nationals for conducting a sweeping cyber-espionage campaign against critical U.S. government systems.
Last week, Belgian authorities arrested a police officer on suspicion of spying for China and Russia. In September, a German court sentenced Jian Guo—a former aide to a member of the European Parliament—to nearly five years in prison for passing information to Beijing.
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