The Ministry of National Defense denied on Wednesday that a former senior military officer, Qian Weiping, is suspected of espionage.

"I can say clearly that the case of Qian Weiping's involvement in espionage is not true. Qian is being investigated by discipline watchdogs of the Central Military Commission for serious violations of discipline and duty crimes," Senior Colonel Wu Qian, the ministry's spokesman, said.

Qian is the former deputy head of the Central Military Commission's equipment development department.

Born in Jiangsu province in 1963, he graduated from National University of Defense Technology and is an expert in space tracking, telemetry and command and communication.

Qian was the chief designer of the tracking, telemetry and command and communication systems for China's manned space program and the Chang'e 2 lunar exploration program.

The equipment development department, one of the CMC's 15 functional departments after reform of the military, is responsible for planning and developing military equipment, research and development, testing, and the construction of information systems.