A Chinese national pleaded guilty on Jan. 6 to conspiracy to commit economic espionage after he tried to steal a trade secret from his U.S. employer to advance his career at a Chinese state-run research institute. Haitao Xiang, 44, a legal permanent U.S. resident formerly from Missouri, worked for Monsanto, a St. Louis-based agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology company, and its subsidiary, The Climate Corporation, between 2008 and 2017, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). He tried to steal an algorithm that was a crucial component of an online farming software platform developed by Monsanto, DOJ officials said. The platform allowed farmers to collect, store, and visualize critical agricultural field data and increase and improve agricultural productivity for farmers. The algorithm, named the Nutrient Optimizer, which Xiang worked on during his employment as an image scientist, was considered by Monsanto and The Climate to be a valuable trade secret and …