(CNN) The Department of Justice announced a Chinese intelligence officer will be brought to the United States to face economic espionage charges, the first time such an extradition has taken place.

Yanjun Xu faces four charges of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets, according to the indictment. DOJ officials said the indictment marks the first time a Chinese Ministry of State Security operative has been arrested and brought to the United States to face charges. He's charged with working to get aviation employees to inadvertently reveal trade secrets to the Chinese government.

"This unprecedented extradition of a Chinese intelligence officer exposes the Chinese government's direct oversight of economic espionage against the United States," said Bill Priestap, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, in a statement.

Xu was one of several Ministry of State Security officials who, starting in 2013, allegedly identified aviation industry experts at at least three companies, including Cincinnati-based GE Aviation, and invited them to China under the guise of speaking at universities for an idea exchange, according to the Justice Departmen complaint

However, these presentations were purely for the benefit of the Chinese government, and often included highly technical discussions about a company's signature material design and manufacturing technology. According to the indictment , the Ministry of State Security officers worked to "protect and conceal the true nature of the information they were seeking" and paid for the experts' travel, lodging and stipends.

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