A Chinese-born American geologist has been sentenced to eight years in jail in China for stealing state secrets. <br/><br/>Xue Feng, 44, was detained in 2007 after negotiating the sale of an oil industry database to his employers, an American consultancy company. Mr Xue said the information he had acquired about China's oil industry was publicly available. <br/><br/>The US embassy said it was dismayed and called for his immediate release. The jail term handed down was described by his lawyer as very heavy. Mr. Xue was also fined two lakh yuan.<br/>