A German court in Dresden has convicted a former aide to a far-right member of the European Parliament of spying for China, a case that links espionage allegations with one of Germany’s most polarizing political figures.
According to the supplied AP report, Jian Guo, a German citizen who worked for Maximilian Krah, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. Prosecutors said he repeatedly passed information on negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to a Chinese intelligence service between September 2019 and April 2024, when he was arrested.
The court also heard that Guo snooped on Chinese dissidents living in Germany and gathered information on prominent politicians connected to the Alternative for Germany, or AfD. Guo denied wrongdoing in court, but the verdict indicates the judges found the prosecution’s account credible enough to sustain a conviction.
The case matters for reasons beyond one defendant. It puts attention on how foreign intelligence services can allegedly exploit political staffers who have access to parliamentary life but not necessarily the visibility of senior officeholders. It also intensifies scrutiny of Krah, who previously identified Guo as his former aide and testified in the trial.
AP reports that Krah said he had no knowledge of the aide’s activities. That denial does not resolve the political fallout, though, because Krah’s name now sits beside a conviction that involves suspected espionage against an EU institution.
The timing is also sensitive. German lawmakers had earlier lifted Krah’s immunity in connection with separate allegations involving ties to China and corruption and spying scandals. That step is a reminder that the Guo case is part of a wider security and political controversy rather than an isolated criminal matter.
The broader context is one of growing European concern about covert influence. China’s foreign ministry last year dismissed similar reports as attempts to “smear and suppress” the country, according to AP. That response did not alter the proceedings in Dresden, but it shows the degree to which espionage allegations have become a diplomatic flashpoint.
The case is likely to reverberate in Germany’s domestic politics as well. AfD has long operated under intense scrutiny from mainstream parties, and Krah’s profile has been controversial inside his own camp. The conviction of a staffer who worked closely with him will strengthen questions about vetting, access and the boundaries between party politics and national security.
For now, the legal result is clear: the court found enough evidence to convict Guo of spying for China over a period that spanned nearly five years. What remains unresolved is how much more the investigation may expose about who knew what, and when, inside the surrounding political network.
