Former German spy chief had contacts with Chinese official, Spiegel reports

BERLIN, Oct 9 (Reuters) Germany s former spy chief August Hanning, who has been placed under arrest for suspected ​espionage, had longstanding contacts to ‌a former senior Chinese general, Spiegel magazine reported. The magazine said Hanning, who left Germany s foreign intelligence service in 2005, had travelled to ‌China ​several times, where he ⁠knew a former ⁠official who had served in China s embassy in formerly communist East Germany. It said the former major general, whom it ​identified as Wang Jianzheng, was an established expert in German-related issues and ⁠had translated a ⁠number of German books into ​Chinese. Hanning was detained this week on suspicion ​of sharing information from confidential documents provided ‌by his former chief of staff with foreign intelligence agents. The alleged activities took place after his retirement, ⁠when he worked as an independent security consultant. Prosecutors have not commented on what material they believe ⁠may ‌have been shared or wh