Chinese Police Question Bain Staff In Shanghai, Take Away Computers – FT

Chinese police have visited the Shanghai offices of Bain & Company and questioned employees, the Financial Times reported today. The action follows other moves against international companies amid badly strained relations between China and the West.

In an emailed statement to Forbes following the FT report, Bain said today: “We can confirm that the Chinese authorities have questioned staff in our Shanghai office. We are cooperating as appropriate with the Chinese authorities. At this time, we have no further comment.”

Citing six people familiar with the situation, the FT said Chinese police had made a surprise visit two weeks ago. “Police took away computers and phones but did not detain any team members, according to two people briefed on the incident. Three of the people said police made more than one visit to the offices in the Chinese financial center.”

The FT said it isn’t clear why the police went to Bain and whether the action connected to the blue-chip consulting firm itself or a client.

Chinese authorities last month shut the Beijing office of Mintz Group, an American corporate due diligence firm, and detained five local staff, CNN reported. New York-based Mintz Group told CNN at the time it hadn’t received any official legal notice regarding a case against the company and had requested that authorities release its employees.

Beijing earlier this month announced a cybersecurity review of U.S. chipmaker Micron aimed at protecting the country’s information infrastructure and national security. (See report story here.) An executive from Japan’s Astellas Pharma is currently being held on espionage charges, reports have said.

Chinese officials have been critical of U.S. restrictions on sales of high-tech items such as semiconductor equipment to mainland customers, as well as of American blacklists of its companies on national security grounds, a group that includes telecommunications makers telecommunications hardware maker Huawei.

Relations have also been strained by Beijing’s close relationship with Russia, its suspected sending of a spy balloon over militarily sensitive parts of the U.S. this year, differences over Taiwan, and worries about data security for users of China’s popular TikTok platform, among other issues.

Among other U.S. companies targeted in China of late, accounting services firm Deloitte’s operations in Beijing have been banned for three months, the FT said. China’s commerce ministry this month also banned several executives from U.S. military suppliers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin from entering the country and prohibited Chinese groups from selling to the two, according to the financial newspaper.

Worries among U.S. businesses in China about tense relations between the two countries were stark in a new survey released today by the American Chamber of Commerce in China. Some 87% of respondents were pessimistic about U.S.-China relations, compared with 73% who were pessimistic in a survey published in early March. (See earlier post here.)

See related posts:

American Companies In China More Optimistic About Economy, Worried About Washington-Beijing Relations

U.S. ‘Constructive Rebalancing’ With China Should Include Tougher WTO, Lower Trade Gap – Ro Khanna

American Views Of China Worsen; Distrust of Social Media Is Widespread — Pew Research

Micron Probe May Hurt China’s Ability To Attract Foreign Investment

U.S. Businesses Look To De-Risk, Not Decouple, Their China Ties

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