China denies attempting to get U.S. space data

BEIJING (Reuters) - China Tuesday denied it had illicitly sought technical data for space launch vehicles from the United States, after a physicist from Virginia pleaded guilty to illegally exporting the information to China.

The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that Shu Quan-Sheng, 68, a China native who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, entered the guilty plea in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia.

Shu admitted that from 2003 through October of 2007 he violated the U.S. arms export control law by providing China with assistance in the design and development of a cryogenic fueling system for space launch vehicles.

He admitted that in 2003 he violated the same law by exporting to China military technical data from a document about designing and making a liquid hydrogen tank and various pumps, valves, filters and instruments.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang dismissed the case.

"The so-called (allegation) of China stealing space technology from the United States is sheer nonsense," Qin told a regular news briefing.

"It has ulterior motives, which will not be successful," he added, without elaborating.

Shu also pleaded guilty to offering bribes of nearly $190,000 to Chinese government officials to win the award last year of a $4 million contract for a hydrogen liquefier project for a French company Shu represented, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Sentencing for Shu was set for April 6. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the export violations and up to five years for violating the foreign corrupt practices law, department officials said.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ken Wills and Jerry Norton)