A German political scientist has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China for several years.

       Federal prosecutors said the suspect -- identified only as Dr. Klaus L. -- had been running a think tank since 2001.

       He was arrested on suspicion of espionage on Monday after an indictment was filed at a Munich court last month, they added.

       Authorities say the man was contacted by employees of a Chinese intelligence service during a lecture trip to Shanghai in June 2010.

       He is accused of regularly passing information to Beijing ahead of or after state visits or multinational conferences until November 2019.

       Prosecutors say the information he passed on came primarily from "high-ranking political contacts" he had made through the think tank.

       They also said that he had received "fees" for his information and that his trips to meet with Chinese intelligence employees were paid for. The suspect is due to appear before a court on Tuesday.

       In June, German officials also separately arrested a Russian scientist working at a university on suspicion of spying for Moscow.