Latest news with #USCommerceDepartment
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Chinese Officers Questioned U.S. Government Employee About His Army Service
Chinese intelligence officers began tracking an employee of the U.S. Commerce Department this spring, when he was in southwest China and where he has family members, at one point interrogating him about his prior service in the U.S. military, according to a U.S. government document. The man, who is an American citizen, has been prevented from leaving China since mid-April, according to the document, a State Department cable that was obtained by The New York Times. The cable, from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, was dated May 2 and sent to officials in Washington, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House aides on the National Security Council. On April 14, the Chinese officers seized the man's passport, credit card, cellphone and iPad while he was in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, the cable said. The officers, who worked for the Ministry of State Security, China's main intelligence and counterintelligence agency, returned the passport on April 22 but told the American he could not leave the country. His wife is in the United States. The cable gives a glimpse into the operations of the secretive Ministry of State Security as it increased pressure on the American during his stay in China. It also lays out efforts by U.S. diplomats to get him to Beijing from Chengdu in early May, while Chinese officers continued to conduct surveillance on him. The man's situation became public over the weekend, after American news organizations reported on his plight. The cable obtained by The Times did not identify the man by name or give details about his background, but it offers new information about his situation. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
China Stops US Commerce Employee From Leaving, Reports Say
(Bloomberg) -- China has stopped an American citizen who works for the US Commerce Department from leaving the nation for several months, according to media reports — an episode that coincides with Beijing and Washington trying to arrange a leaders' summit so they can address their differences on trade. Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital The Chinese-American individual who works for the Patent and Trademark Office had traveled to meet relatives, the Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive issue. The US sent a very high-level message to Beijing to let the man depart, the newspaper added, citing one person. It said it didn't know the name of the man facing a so-called exit ban, which was put in place over an apparent failure to disclose on a visa application that he worked for the US government. Officials from Beijing and Washington — including in the Commerce Department — are negotiating a trade deal after President Donald Trump hit goods from China with heavy tariffs that he later paused. Trump also wants a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to sort through their problems, which touch on technology curbs, rare earths and the status of Taiwan. To get the sitdown and a trade pact, Trump has recently softened his harsh campaign rhetoric that focused on the US's massive trade deficit with China and resulting job losses. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that there was 'a strong desire on both sides' for a Xi-Trump meeting. The outlook for such a meeting could be complicated if the episode involving the employee of the US Commerce Department escalates. The incident is somewhat magnified because Wells Fargo & Co. recently suspended travel to the world's second-biggest economy after one of its top trade financing bankers was blocked from leaving. 'These cases in combination are significant and will have a chilling effect on US business travel to China,' said Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst on the China and Northeast Asia team at Eurasia Group, who once worked as a diplomat in China and Japan. 'Given that Trump's team is reportedly planning to bring a group of CEOs along with him for his summit with Xi later this year, these reports may complicate that effort or make US business executives less willing to participate.' The Commerce Department employee, a veteran of the US army, was detained when he arrived in the southwestern city of Chengdu in April, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday, citing a person familiar with the situation. He was being prevented from leaving China because his case was 'related to actions Beijing deemed harmful to national security,' the newspaper reported, though the specifics couldn't be confirmed. Since the man arrived in Chengdu, he had also traveled to the Chinese capital with a US official, the newspaper reported. The Patent and Trademark Office the man works for handles US patents and registers trademarks. It says on its website that its 'mission is to drive US innovation and global competitiveness.' A spokesperson US Embassy in Beijing said that its 'highest priority is the safety and security of US citizens overseas.' It added that 'we track these cases closely, and have raised our concern with Chinese authorities about the impact these arbitrary exit bans have on our bilateral relations and urged them to immediately allow impacted US citizens to return home.' The Foreign Ministry in Beijing didn't respond to a request for comment. China's use of exit bans has been a point of contention between Beijing and Washington in recent years. The US State Department has repeatedly advised citizens to reconsider travel to China based on what it called the 'arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans.' The move by Wells Fargo came after Chenyue Mao, an Atlanta-based managing director for the bank who was born in Shanghai, was banned from departing after entering China in recent weeks, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The case underscores multinational companies' fears about the risks of operating in China, especially in regard to staff safety and restrictions on movement. Among notable incidents in recent years, the Wall Street Journal in 2023 reported a senior executive at US risk advisory firm Kroll was prevented from leaving China. In 2019, Bloomberg reported that a UBS Group AG wealth manager was detained for about three months before returning home. An academic analysis published in 2022, based on data from six governments, found 128 cases of foreign citizens facing Chinese exit bans, with at least a third of the cases driven by business disputes. Chinese law prohibits people suspected of crimes from leaving the country. Chinese citizens judged to have endangered national security can also face exit bans under the country's recently updated espionage law. --With assistance from Catherine Lucey and James Mayger. (Updates with comments from Eurasia Group analyst.) 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Japan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
China stops U.S. Department of Commerce worker from leaving country: reports
China has stopped a U.S. citizen who works for America's Department of Commerce from leaving the nation for several months, according to media reports, an episode that comes as Beijing and Washington try to arrange a leaders' summit so they can address their differences on trade. The Chinese-American individual who works for the Patent and Trademark Office had traveled to the Asian nation to meet relatives, the Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter. The newspaper said it didn't know the name of the man facing a so-called exit ban, adding that the incident was over a failure to disclose on a visa application that he worked for the U.S. government. The man was detained when he arrived in the southwestern city of Chengdu in April, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday, citing a person familiar with the situation. The man was being prevented from leaving China because his case was "related to actions Beijing deemed harmful to national security,' the newspaper reported, though the specifics couldn't be confirmed. Since the man arrived in Chengdu, he had also traveled to the Chinese capital with a U.S. official, the newspaper reported. Neither the U.S. Commerce Department nor the Foreign Ministry in Beijing responded to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Officials from Beijing and Washington — including in the Commerce Department — are negotiating a trade deal after U.S. President Donald Trump hit goods from China with heavy tariffs that he later paused. Trump also wants a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to sort through their problems, which also touch on technology curbs, rare earths and the status of Taiwan. To get the sit-down and a trade pact, Trump has recently softened his harsh campaign rhetoric that focused on the U.S.' massive trade deficit with China and resulting job losses. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that there was "a strong desire on both sides' for a Xi-Trump meeting. China's use of exit bans has been a point of contention between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly advised citizens to reconsider travel to China based on what it called the "arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans.'
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
US government worker, target of exit ban, prevented from leaving China for months
An American citizen who works for the US government has been blocked from leaving China for months, possibly on national security grounds, after travelling there recently, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source familiar with the matter said that a naturalised US citizen, originally from China, was detained by authorities upon landing in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in April. The individual, who previously served in the US Army, works for the US Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office, but he had been on a personal trip to visit relatives. His wife is believed to live in the US. The Post is withholding his name out of concern for his safety and privacy while he remains in China. The Washington Post, reporting on the same incident and citing people familiar, said the employee was being held for failing to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the US government. Since being held in Chengdu, he has travelled to Beijing, accompanied by a US official, though his current whereabouts are unknown. At one point, according to the source, the individual's US passport was taken from him, but it has since been returned.
Malaysian Reserve
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Malaysian Reserve
US to impose steep anti-dumping duty on battery material from China
WASHINGTON — The United States unveiled on Thursday preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5 percent on imports of a key battery component from China, after looking into a petition on the matter. Final determinations regarding duties on graphite are expected in early December, according to the US Commerce Department. Its investigation came after a petition by the American Active Anode Material Producers, an ad-hoc coalition including US graphite producers, late last year. Graphite is an important raw material used in making anodes of batteries, and China is a dominant player when it comes to its processing capacity of graphite. The duty could raise temperatures in the global electric vehicle supply chain, potentially adding to costs for automakers who rely on the material for production. The products covered under the investigation includes active anode material, whether or not they are contained in finished batteries. China and the United States are now engaged in negotiations about their broader economic relationship after reaching a framework for a deal last month, stepping back from the brink of a spiraling trade war. Asked about the new graphite duties, Beijing's foreign ministry said Friday that 'the essence of China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win results'. 'It is hoped the US side will conscientiously abide by the rules of the market economy and maintain the healthy and stable development of China-US economic and trade relations,' spokesman Lin Jian said. The US Commerce Department's notice came after Washington took aim at solar imports from Southeast Asia as well earlier this year. Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has also separately targeted sector-specific imports with tariffs, including 50 percent duties on imported steel and aluminum, alongside other levies on autos. — AFP
