A Chinese citizen was arrested in Chicago for allegedly acting as an “illegal agent” on behalf of Beijing, adding further strain between the US and China.

Ji Chaoqun, 27, has been charged by the US Department of Justice for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) after allegedly providing information about American defence contractor employees in efforts to recruit them as informants.

“By collecting this information for an arm of the Chinese government in the United States, Ji knowingly and unlawfully acted as an agent of a foreign power,” wrote FBI special agent Andrew McKay in the affidavit.

Ji’s arrest on Tuesday came as tensions grow between the US and China and as American intelligence officials have repeatedly issued stark warnings regarding growing Chinese influence.

In the last week, the US has approved a $330 million (£250 million) arms sale to Taiwan, an island nation that Beijing claims sovereignty over, and slapped sanctions on the Chinese military for purchasing military equipment from Russia.

Washington has also ordered Chinese state media to register as foreign agents under FARA, and a new round of tariffs have gone into effect taxing about half of the goods that come to the US from China.