China imposes prohibitions of departure to the employee of the United States Department of Commerce and a Wells Fargo banker

An employee of the United States Department of Commerce has been restricted to leave Porcelain By authorities in Beijing, a state department spokesman told News themezone on Monday. The restricted trip of the unidentified government employee was confirmed since Beijing revealed new information about a banker from Wells Fargo based in the United States that has also undergone an exit prohibition.

“We can confirm that an employee of the US patent and brands office, while traveling to China to a personal capacity, was subject to a prohibition of departure in China,” the state department spokesman said on Monday. “We are tracking this case very closely and we are committed to Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

The New York Times reported Monday that the employee in question is an American citizen who has been prevented from leaving China since mid -April. The newspaper cited a state department document that has obtained, adding that it shows that Beijing officials seized the passport, credit card, the cell phone and the iPad of the man while it was in the city of Chengdu on April 14.

The Times said, citing the document, that the man’s documents were returned on April 22, but told him that he could not leave the country.

At a press conference on Monday, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to comment on the case of the employee of the Department of Commerce beyond saying that Beijing “defends the rule of law and manages the issues of entry and exit in accordance with the law.”

But the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiaku, confirmed that Wells Fargo banker, Mao Chenyue, has been restricted to leave China and face criminal charges.

“Mrs. Mao Chenyue is involved in a criminal case that is currently managed by the authorities of the Chinese law and is subject to exit restrictions in accordance with the Law. In accordance with Chinese laws, with the case still under investigation, Mrs. Mao cannot leave the country for time and has an obligation to cooperate with investigation”, the Chinese foreign ministry Spokespone Jiaku on Monday.

Chenyue is Manager of Wells Fargo and has its headquarters in Atlanta, according to her LinkedIn profile, which says she is bilingual in English and Chinese. A source close to Chenyue confirmed to News themezone that he is an American citizen. He directs the International Factoring Business of Wells Fargo and was born in Shanghai, according to a June press release on the FCI website without profit, a global network of companies that provides factorization services.

A Wells Fargo representative told News themezone in a statement on Monday that the company was “tracking this situation closely and working through the appropriate channels so that our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible.”

A spokesman for the US Department of the US.

On its website, the State Department urges Americans who travel in China to “exercise greater caution”, warning that China “arbitrarily enforces local laws, including prohibitions of exit to US citizens and citizens of other countries, without a fair and transparent process according to the law.”

American citizens can only realize that they have undergone a departure prohibition when they try to leave China, and there may not be a legal appeal available to appeal such prohibition through a Chinese court, according to the State Department notice.

The Chinese government does not recognize dual nationality, which means that “American citizens of Chinese ancestry may be subject to additional scrutiny and harassment,” says the guide on the State Department website.

The last incidents arrive at a sensitive moment in relations between Beijing and Washington. At the end of June, the White House and Beijing officials said the two parties had agreed within the framework of a new agreement To end a commercial war between the two largest economies in the world.

As is, China faces a deadline of August 12, imposed by President Trump, to reach a new commercial agreement with the United States to end a growing war of commercial rates in which countries have participated since Trump returned to the White House in January.

Trump imposed tariffs of up to 145% in China imports, and Beijing responded with his own stunned import tariffs, but the two parts agreed a truce to allow negotiations. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has imposed 30% tariffs on China imports, waiting for the term of August 12, when Washington and Beijing will impose much higher rates if no agreement is reached.

The confrontation has increased the risks for US companies to carry out businesses in China that had already been increasing for several years.

In June 2023, after the Chinese authorities He attacked the offices Of several companies based in the United States, the business lawyer based in Beijing, James Zimmerman, He told News themezone It seemed that everything was being taken by the Communist Party as a potential threat.

“Unfortunately, in that type of environment it is very difficult to operate: when everything looks as a national security issue and … it seems that … anything you do could be considered spying,” he said.

Olivia Victoria Gaza contributed to this report.

• National security
• Xi Jinping
• Duty
• Donald Trump
• Porcelain
• White House
• Wells Fargo
• United States Department of Commerce