LOS ANGELES - A CHINESE-BORN United States citizen pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a plot to export thermal-imaging cameras out of the United States illegally, justice officials said.

Chao Tah Wei, 52, admitted on Thursday three felony counts concerning 10 cameras concealed in luggage bound for China in April this year and three cameras shipped illegally to Beijing in October 2007.

Chao was arrested with a Chinese national at Los Angeles International Airport earlier this year after the cameras, which have the potential for military use, were found in their luggage.

The second man, Guo Zhiyong, faces a trial in August. Chao will be sentenced on Oct 6 and faces a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison.

The cameras at the centre of the case are export-controlled for national security reasons, justice officials said.

According to previous statements, Chao bought three cameras last year and shipped them to China. However, when he ordered 10 more of the cameras in March, he was repeatedly warned he would need a licence to take them back to China but failed to apply for one.

US authorities have recently accused China of 'aggressively' trying to steal sensitive US military technology and information.

US engineer Chi Mak was jailed 24 years in March for conspiring to smuggle Navy submarine technology to China. -- AFP