High-tech exec sent space info to China

The president of a high-tech company with offices in Beijing violated U.S. arms export control laws, he admitted in federal court.

Shu Quan-Sheng, 68, a naturalized U.S. citizen, said that from 2003 through 2007 he assisted China with the design and development of a cryogenic fueling system for space launch vehicles, Reuters reports. He said he bribed Chinese officials $190,000 to win a $4 million contract for a hydrogen liquefier project for a French company Shu represented.

Prosecutors also said Shu directed employees to falsify documents to hide the violations.

Meanwhile the Chinese government denied it was seeking to steal U.S. space technology, AP reports.

Qin Gang, a spokesman at China's Foreign Ministry, told reporters Tuesday that "the allegation that China is stealing outer space technology from the U.S. is being made with ulterior motives, and is in vain."