A Chinese university professor and his accomplice were on trail in Beijing on Tuesday for alleged smuggling and tax evasion of up to 19 million yuan (2.4 million U.S. dollars).

Sun Jian, 51, associate professor of the School of Electrical Engineering with the Beijing Jiaotong University, and He Yingyu, 41, an official with the Beijing Haohua Taifeng Technology Co. Ltd., are charged with making false reports to avoid paying customs duties on fiber and filament from the Netherlands and Japan from 2003 to 2005. They are being tried in the Beijing No. 2Intermediate People's Court.

Sun has admitted to making false contracts and receipts for customs declaration.