LiWei of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing says he believes that Xinjiang's militants are motivated more by separatism than jihad.
According to court documents in Miami, Wei admitted to agents after Li's arrest that he knew about Li's smuggling and had purchased rhinoceros carvings from Li that apparently had been smuggled from the United States.
It was treated as big news on Tuesday when Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau indicted Chinese executive Li Fang Wei and his company for using New York banks to finance the sale of tons of restricted, weapons-related material to Iran.
Mr Wei, who was sharing a hotel room with Mr Li, later asked an undercover informant to take a fish and wildlife officer out for dinner and offer her money to help Mr Li, prosecutors said.
Also arrested on a related criminal complaint in Miami was Shusen Wei, a Chinese business executive, who also attended the antique show and shared a hotel room with Li.