The case is the latest to underscore Beijing's heightened commitment to national security, its expanded anti-spying laws and crackdown on domestic corruption.
China's Ministry of State Security released a statement with the report on its WeChat social media account on Sunday, saying "espionage activities go hand in hand with deception, temptation, and conspiracy."CCTV said a U.S. professor close to Hou introduced him to someone who claimed to be an employee of a consulting company, but was actually an American "intelligence officer" using the company as his cover, CCTV said.
A few months later, while Hou's wife and son were visiting the U.S., the American revealed his true intentions and proposed a change in the way they cooperated. Hou, fearing for his wife's and son's safety, agreed to the terms, according to CCTV. The cooperation continued after Hou returned to China in 2014. He would meet with U.S. intelligence while attending international conferences, CCTV said. He also provided intelligence information in the field of national defense and the military industry on his own initiative, the report said.