Beijing said Monday that a Chinese-born former Boeing engineer convicted by a US court of spying for China had been set up, and insisted it had no links to the espionage case.

"The allegation that a so-called Chinese person stole trade secrets in the United States and gave them to China is purely a fabrication made up out of ulterior motives," the foreign ministry said in a short statement.

The ministry refused further comment on the case.

The former Boeing engineer, Dongfan 'Greg' Chung, was convicted by a US court last week of stealing technology and trade secrets for China for decades, including data on NASA's space shuttle programme.

Chung, 73, a resident of Orange County, California and a naturalised US citizen, was found guilty of economic espionage and acquiring information using his "secret" classified clearance.

The former employee of Rockwell International's space and defence unit, which was taken over by Boeing in 1996, was convicted of multiple counts related to his decades-long espionage.

Chung, who was arrested in February 2008, remains in custody pending sentencing on November 9.