Is China’s international scientist recruitment program shorthand for IP theft?

Do you remember the American corn seed heist of 2013? More kernel than caper, Mo Hailong and six other Chinese nationals were accused of digging up patented GMO corn seeds from Iowa farms and, once concealed in boxes of microwaveable popcorn, attempting to smuggle them to China. In 2016, Hailong was convicted and jailed for three years, for 'conspiracy to steal trade secrets'. Some of his accomplices remain at large.