The allegations, coming a day after three other people suspected of spying for China were detained in Germany, sparked an angry reaction from Beijing, which said the arrest was designed to "smear and suppress" China.
It was also a new blow for Germany's far-right AfD party, which has been battling a series of scandals including allegations that some of its members have links to Russia.
The suspect, identified only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing European Parliament information with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
The European Parliament lists Jian Guo as an accredited assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the AfD party's lead candidate in the forthcoming European Union-wide elections.
Guo is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Krah in Brussels since 2019.
Prosecutors said the suspect "is an employee of a Chinese secret service".
"In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament," they said.
"He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service."
The European Parliament said it had suspended the aide "with immediate effect" in the wake of the revelations.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the allegations against Guo "very serious" and demanded a thorough investigation.
"If it is confirmed that spying for China is happening from the European Parliament, then that is an attack on European democracy from within," she said.
- Election meddling fears -
An AfD spokesman described the allegations as "very disturbing" and said the party had no further information on the case.
The party has summoned the MEP to Berlin, with the AfD's co-leader Alice Weidel promising a statement "on Wednesday at the latest" on the allegations.
Krah said he had found out about his assistant's arrest from the press.
"Spying for a foreign state is a serious allegation. Should the allegations prove to be true, this would result in an immediate termination of employment," he said in a statement.
The arrest plunges the anti-Islam, anti-immigration AfD into further turmoil.
Krah was himself caught up in a separate scandal in which it was alleged that some European lawmakers had accepted money to spread pro-Russian positions on a Moscow-financed news website.
Krah was named in media reports after the Czech government said late last month it had uncovered a Russian propaganda network.
Krah said he had twice appeared on the "Voice of Europe" website but had "of course not received any money for this".
AfD lawmaker Petr Bystron also denied accepting money to cooperate with the news site.
But the accusations have highlighted worries about potential foreign meddling and disinformation ahead of the June 6-9 EU polls, in which far-right parties across the 27-nation bloc are expected to make gains.
- String of spy cases -
Voters might also "remember this case at the time of casting their votes", Antonia Hmaidi, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin, told AFP.
While the news was "surprising", reporting suggested that "the Chinese Ministry of State Security has worked to recruit other far-right politicians in the EU", Hmaidi said.
Guo was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday, prosecutors said.
According to research by German broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR -- who first broke news of the arrest -- Guo is no stranger to German intelligence.
He reportedly offered his services as an informer at least a decade ago but was turned away on suspicion he might be a Chinese double agent.
The Guo case comes after Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology, allegations strongly rejected by China's embassy in Berlin.
The two cases are not connected, according to German media.
And in Britain on Monday, two men were charged with passing information to China between 2021 and last year. One of the suspects previously worked in Britain's parliament as a researcher.
China says spy claims in Germany and Britain are 'malicious'
Beijing (AFP) April 23, 2024 -
Beijing said Tuesday that the arrests and charges in Germany and Britain of people accused of spying for China were designed to "smear and suppress" the country.
Investigators in Germany arrested three German nationals in the west of the country on Monday suspected of sharing information on maritime technology, prosecutors said in a statement.
The trio, identified only as Herwig F., Ina F. and Thomas R., are accused of taking part in an information-gathering project funded by Chinese state agencies, as well as illegally exporting a laser to China.
In Britain, two men were charged the same day with handing over "articles, notes, documents or information" to China between 2021 and last year.
Police identified the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.
German prosecutors said on Tuesday another individual, an aide to a German far-right politician standing in June's European Union elections, had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was asked several questions by journalists on Tuesday about the allegations.
"Recent reports on China's so-called espionage activities in Europe are all hyped up and aimed at smearing and suppressing China," Wang said.
"Not only there have been reports from Germany but we have also noted similar reports from the UK in the past two days.
"We firmly oppose such hype and urge relevant parties to stop spreading false information about the so-called China spy threat, stop political manipulation and malicious defamation against China," he said.
- 'Mutual respect' -
The German arrests and British charges come amid repeated Western warnings of Chinese intelligence services targeting advanced technologies.
Pressed specifically on the two men charged in Britain, Wang said: "I would like to reiterate that the so-called claim that China is suspected of stealing British intelligence is completely fabricated and a malicious slander.
"We firmly oppose it and hope that relevant people and parties will stop anti-China political manipulation."
Responding to a question on the arrested German MEP's aide, Wang said such claims were designed "to destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe".
The arrested man, identified only as Jian G., is accused of sharing information about negotiations at the European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Asked about the arrest, Wang said it was "clear for everyone to see recently that the so-called Chinese espionage threat theory is not a new thing in European public opinion".
"What we want to emphasise is that China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs to cooperate with countries around the world, including Europe," Wang said.
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