The first Chinese communist intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the United States was sentenced on Nov. 16 to 20 years in federal prison.

Xu Yanjun, 42, had been found guilty earlier this month of leading a ring of Chinese agents that targeted U.S. aviation companies, recruiting their employees to travel to China, and soliciting their proprietary information on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Xu, who had pleaded not guilty, was convicted of all charges in federal court following a nearly three-week-long trial, according to a Department of Justice statement.

“As proven at trial, the defendant, a Chinese government intelligence officer, used a range of techniques to attempt to steal technology and proprietary information from companies based in both the U.S. and abroad,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement.

“Today’s sentence demonstrates the seriousness of those crimes and the Justice Department’s determination to investigate and prosecute efforts by the Chinese government, or any foreign power, to threaten our economic and national security.”