In what was hailed as a rare espionage victory against China, U.S. officials successfully extradited a Chinese intelligence official lured to Belgium back to the U.S. on charges of economic espionage.  According to the New York Times:

The extradition on Tuesday of the officer, Yanjun Xu, a deputy division director in China's main spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, is the first time that a Chinese intelligence official has been brought to the United States to be prosecuted and tried in open court.  Law enforcement officials said that Mr. Xu tried to steal trade secrets from companies including GE Aviation outside Cincinnati, in Evendale, Ohio, one of the world's top jet engine suppliers for commercial and military aircraft.

The Times report, which is good, notes that this kind of economic secret-stealing is business as usual for the Chicoms, whose national security strategy seems to be premised on thievery instead of innovation.

The coming trial, in federal court in Cincinnati, could further expose China's methods for stealing trade secrets and embarrass officials in Beijing – part of what current and former administration officials said was a long-term strategy to make stealing secrets costly and shameful for China.  Federal prosecutors will have to present additional evidence to prove their case, which could include intercepted communications between government officials or even testimony from cooperating witnesses.

The Times reporter even offered some rare, rare (hope she doesn't get into trouble) implied praise for the Trump administration for actually going after this matter:

China has for years used spycraft and cyberattacks to steal American corporate, academic and military information to bolster its growing economic power and political influence.  But apprehending an accused Chinese spy – all others charged by the United States government are still at large – is an extraordinary development and a sign of the Trump administration's continued crackdown on the Chinese theft of trade secrets.

That's what this whole thing is really about: China's theft of trade secrets is part of its trade war against the U.S., and President Trump is the first one pushing back.

As Seb Gorka noted on Twitter, that raises questions about what all the current criticism about President Trump's so-called "trade war" against China is good for.  The espionage here shows that the Chinese struck first:

Guess who started the “Trade War?” https://t.co/rF6PgfM9QS

— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) October 10, 2018

Oh, and as a bonus, President Trump has apparently done a masterly job of encouraging U.S. allies to start acting like allies and cooperate in these ventures.  Cripes, he got Belgium to cooperate, and as a bonus to Belgium, it sheds its reputation as an incompetent state.

Obviously, with the bust of this Chinese official, and the fallout that comes with information that rolls out in court, the answer to that Gorka question is increasingly clear. 

They've been at war with us for years, and nobody's noticed.  They gave a war, and nobody in previous U.S. administrations came.

Now they're caught, and word is about to get out.