U.S. officials on Thursday arrested a Chinese man prosecutors say was at the center of an effort to influence local politics in California, charging him with acting as an illegal foreign agent over his role in getting a politician elected to a City Council position in the Los Angeles area.

美国周四逮捕了一名中国男子，检察官称此人是一宗试图影响加州地方政治事件的核心人物，指控他充当非法外国代理人，帮助一名政治人物当选洛杉矶地区一座城市的市议员。

Prosecutors say Mike Sun, also identified as Yaoning Sun, 64, worked closely with another man, John Chen, who was sentenced in November to 20 months in prison for being an agent of China and bribery. The two discussed Mr. Sun’s effort to get the politician elected in 2022. Mr. Chen, who is identified in court documents as Jun Chen, asked Mr. Sun to prepare a report about the candidate that was sent to Chinese officials, according to a criminal complaint made public Thursday. The most recent draft of the report included a request for $80,000 from China to support pro-Beijing activities in the United States.

检察官称，64岁的迈克·孙（Mike Sun，又名孙耀宁）与另一名男子约翰·陈(John Chen)密切合作。后者于去年11月因担任中国代理人和行贿被判处20个月监禁。两人讨论了孙耀宁为帮助那位政客在2022年当选所做的努力。根据周四公布的刑事起诉书（法庭文件中使用了约翰·陈的中文名陈军），他要求孙耀宁准备一份关于这位候选人的报告，以便发给中国官员。该报告的最新版本中包括要求中国提供8万美元资金，以支持在美国展开亲北京活动。

Mr. Sun is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer. A phone number registered to Sun Yaoning was not in service.

孙耀宁定于周五下午出庭。目前尚不清楚他是否有律师。孙耀宁名下登记的电话号码已停机。

Mr. Sun’s arrest and the sentencing in New York of Mr. Chen are part of an effort by federal prosecutors to curb attempts by China to influence local politicians in the United States. After setbacks in extending its influence in Washington, the Chinese government has turned to America’s cities and states, prosecutors say, hoping to nurture support for causes important to Beijing, such as curbing calls for autonomy for Taiwan, opposing any democracy movement in Hong Kong and combating the fiercely anti-Communist Falun Gong spiritual movement.

孙耀宁的被捕以及陈军在纽约的宣判是联邦检察官为遏制中国试图影响美国地方政客而采取的行动的一部分。检察官称，在扩大对华盛顿的影响力遭遇挫折后，中国政府已转向美国的城市和州，希望获得对北京来说重要的事业的支持，例如遏制对台湾自治的呼吁、反对香港的任何民主运动，以及打击强烈反共的灵修运动法轮功。

Officials say that the Chinese government is reaching into smaller local elections as a long-term investment: Successful local officials often seek higher office and can make introductions to more senior politicians.

官员们表示，中国政府将参与小规模地方选举作为一项长期投资：成功的地方官员往往会寻求更高的职位，并能将自己引荐给更高位的政治人物。

The arrest of Mr. Sun in Southern California suggests an expanding scope of Chinese government efforts to influence American elections, following a Times investigation focusing on a New York man with a criminal backround, John Chan, who has close ties to the local Chinese consulate and worked to shape election outcomes at the city, state and congressional levels. To build those ties, the Chinese government can dangle money, access to its huge domestic market, even pandas.

孙耀宁在南加州被捕表明中国政府影响美国选举的行动范围正在扩大。此前，《纽约时报》对一名有犯罪背景的纽约男子陈善庄进行了调查。陈善庄与纽约当地中国领事馆关系密切，并曾试图影响市、州和国会层面的选举结果。为了建立这些关系，中国政府可以使用金钱、对其国内庞大市场的准入、甚至熊猫来展开诱惑。

“We’ve seen a trend in which officials of the People’s Republic of China seek to influence the political system of our country, and they are doing so by taking a broad approach, including government officials who may be local, who may not be yet on a national stage,” Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, told reporters on a call.

“我们看到一种趋势，中华人民共和国的官员试图影响我们国家的政治体系，他们通过采取更广泛的方式来这样做，包括可能是地方层面的政府官员，他们可能尚未登上国家舞台，”洛杉矶联邦检察官马丁·埃斯特拉达在电话中对记者说。

Mr. Estrada noted that Mr. Sun and Mr. Chen had claimed credit for getting a “rising star” elected in California, someone they hoped would “continue to ascend within the political system.”

埃斯特拉达指出，孙耀宁和陈军将加州一位“冉冉升起的新星”的当选归功于他们，他们希望这位“新星”能够“在政治体制内步步高升”。

“So it’s definitely a long game approach that we are seeing from the People’s Republic of China,” Mr. Estrada said.

“因此，我们看到中华人民共和国采取的绝对是一种长期博弈策略，”埃斯特拉达说。

The politician for whom Mr. Sun served as campaign manager was referred to in the criminal complaint as “individual 1” because that person has not been charged, Mr. Estrada said. Campaign finance and other records show that a man named Yaoning Sun has worked closely with Eileen Wang, a councilwoman in Arcadia, a city in the Los Angeles area, whose biographical details match the description outlined in the complaint.

埃斯特拉达表示，由孙耀宁担任竞选经理的那位政治人物在刑事起诉书中被称为“个人1”，因为他尚未受到指控。竞选资金和其他记录显示，一名叫孙耀宁的男子与洛杉矶地区亚凯迪亚市的议员王爱琳密切合作，她的履历细节与起诉书中的描述相符。

Mr. Sun briefly shows up on Ms. Wang’s 2022 campaign filings as her treasurer and was reimbursed by her campaign for meetings, a fund-raiser and travel expenses. Ms. Wang won election to her seat that year, with more than 60 percent of the vote. Mr. Sun and Ms. Wang are also the officers of the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce USA, a nonprofit established in 2018 to “promote Chinese community small business.” An Instagram feed with Mr. Sun’s name has nearly 175 videos and photos calling on voters to support Ms. Wang.

孙耀宁一度出现在王爱琳2022年的竞选文件中，担任她的财务主管，并由她的竞选团队报销会议、一场筹款会以及差旅的费用。王爱琳当年以超过60%的得票率赢得了她的席位。孙耀宁和王爱琳还是美国西南商会的官员，该商会是一家成立于2018年的非营利组织，旨在“促进华裔社区小企业的发展”。一个以孙耀宁为名的Instagram账号上发布了近175个视频和照片，呼吁选民支持王爱琳。

Prosecutors also said that Mr. Sun’s last registered physical address with the Department of Motor Vehicles was a home owned by the local politician.Ms. Wang has not been accused of any wrongdoing. And it is not clear from the complaint that Ms. Wang was aware of the conversations Mr. Sun and Mr. Chen were allegedly having between themselves and with Chinese government officials about her candidacy. Nor is it obvious from Ms. Wang’s social media posts or the criminal complaint against Mr. Sun that Ms. Wang is pro-Beijing. A recent entry on a Facebook account with her name and photo, for example, discusses a meeting she said she had in late July with a visiting official from Taiwan, the island democracy that China claims as its own. Beijing bristles when American lawmakers meet with Taiwan officials.

检察官还表示，孙耀宁在机动车管理局登记的最新地址是王爱琳名下的一处住宅。王爱琳没有被指控有任何不当行为。从起诉书中无法确定王爱琳是否知道孙耀宁和陈军之间，以及与中国政府官员之间就她参选一事进行的对话。从王爱琳的社交媒体帖文或对孙耀宁的刑事起诉书中也无法明显看出她是亲北京的。例如，在一个有她的名字和照片的Facebook账户上，最近的一篇贴文讨论了她于7月底与一位来访的台湾官员的会面。中国声称民主的台湾是其领土。当美国议员与台湾官员会面时，北京会勃然大怒。

Ms. Wang did not immediately return a phone call and a text to her cellphone or an email seeking comment.

王爱琳没有立即回复寻求置评的电话、短信和电子邮件。

Last month, after pleading guilty, Mr. Chen — Mr. Sun’s alleged co-conspirator — was sentenced after, prosecutors say, he and a co-conspirator hatched a plot to repress members of Falun Gong in the United States and bribe an I.R.S. agent to help revoke the group’s tax-exempt status.

上个月，陈军——孙耀宁的涉嫌同谋——在认罪后被判刑，检察官称，他和一名同谋策划压制美国的法轮功成员，并贿赂一名国税局官员以帮助取消该团体的免税资格。

In the new complaint unsealed in Los Angeles on Thursday, Mr. Chen is described as an intermediary between Mr. Sun and Chinese government officials, to whom Mr. Chen bragged about assembling “a basic team dedicated for us,” referring to Mr. Sun and the elected official in Los Angeles County.

在洛杉矶周四公布的新起诉书中，陈军被描述为孙耀宁和中国政府官员之间的中间人，陈军向中国政府官员吹嘘说，他组建了“一个专门为我们服务的基础团队”，这里指的是孙耀宁和那名洛杉矶县民选官员。

Mr. Chen also told a cellmate that a Chinese spy agency had given him $250,000 to come to the United States 30 years ago and had then paid him $52,000 a month, according to the complaint. In his conversations with a Chinese government official, Mr. Chen called Mr. Sun “my helping hand in the Chinese community since 1997.”

起诉书称，陈军还曾告诉一名狱友，30年前，中国间谍机构给他25万美元，让他来到美国，之后每月又付给他5.2万美元。在与中国政府官员的交谈中，陈军称孙耀宁是“自1997年以来我在华人社区的得力助手”。

In a memo the two men prepared for an unnamed “big boss” in the Chinese Communist Party, Mr. Chen and Mr. Sun asked for $80,000 as part of an effort to promote pro-China activities in the United States; they also planned to ask for “100 drums” and uniforms in “China Red” that could be used in parades, the complaint said.

起诉书称，在两人为中共一位未透露姓名的“大佬”准备的一份备忘录中，陈军和孙耀宁要求提供8万美元，用于在美国推动亲中活动；他们还计划索要“100面鼓”和可用于游行的“中国红”制服。

Prosecutors say Mr. Chen instructed Mr. Sun to claim credit for their electoral success, and Mr. Sun wrote: “Most proudly of all, during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, I orchestrated and organized my team to win the election for City Council member candidate [Individual 1],” the complaint said.

根据起诉书，检察官称，陈军指示孙耀宁揽下选举成功的功劳，孙耀宁写道：“最值得骄傲的是，在2022年美国中期选举期间，我精心策划并组织我的团队为市议员候选人[个人1]赢得了选举。”