An American Commerce Department employee has been banned from leaving China By officials in Beijing, a spokesman of the State Department told CBS News on Monday. The banned visit of an unknown government employee was confirmed as Beijing revealed new information about the US-based Wales Fargo banker, which has been subjected to a exit ban.
The State Department spokesman said on Monday, “We can confirm that an American patent and trademark office worker, while traveling in China’s personal capacity, was subjected to a exhaust ban in China.” “We are tracking the matter very closely and engaged with Chinese authorities to resolve the situation as soon as possible.”
The New York Times said on Monday that the employee is an American citizen in question that has been prevented from leaving China from mid -April. The newspaper cited a document of a foreign department, showing that it shows that Beijing officials had seized man’s passports, credit cards, cellphones and iPads during the city of Chengdu on 14 April.
Lee Gang/Xinhua through Getty Image 
The Times, citing the document, said that the documents of the man were returned on April 22, but they were told that he could not leave the country.
At a news conference on Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson refused to comment on the case of an employee of the Department of Commerce, stating that Beijing “handles the rule of law and handles entry and exit cases according to the law.”
But Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiyaku confirmed that Wales Fargo banker Mao Chenu has been banned from leaving China and facing criminal allegations.
“Ms. Mao Chenu is currently involved in a criminal case, which are currently being controlled by Chinese Law-Enforcement Officers and are subject to the rest being exit according to the law. According to Chinese laws, with this case, still under investigation, Ms. Mao cannot leave the country for this time and is a responsibility to cooperate with investigation,”
Chenue Wales is a managing director in Farago and is located in Atlanta, according to his LinkedIn Profile. Her LinkedIn account also says that she is bilingual in English and Chinese.
MAO leads Wells Fargo’s international factoring business and was born in Shanghai, according to a June press release on the Non -Profit FCI website, a global network of companies that offer factoring services.
On Tuesday, it was not clear whether Mao has dual sugar and American nationality or not.
A representative from Wales Fargo, in a statement on Monday, told CBS News that the company was “tracking the situation closely and working through appropriate channels to return to the United States as soon as possible.”
A spokesman for the US State Department on Monday refused to comment on the situation of Chenue, “due to privacy and other views,” but said that the State Department “is not more priority than the safety and safety of American citizens.”
On your websiteThe State Department has warned Americans traveling in China to “increase precautions”, warning that China “enforces local laws, including a ban on exit on American citizens and citizens of other countries, without a fair and transparent procedure under the law.”
American citizens may only feel that when they try to leave China, they have been subjected to a exhaust ban, and according to the travel advisor to the State Department, there may be no legal support to appeal to such a ban through the Chinese court.
Guidance on the website of the state department states that the Chinese government also does not recognize dual nationality, meaning “American citizens of American citizens may be subject to additional investigation and harassment.”
The latest events occur at a sensitive time in relationships between Beijing and Washington. At the end of June, officials at the White House and Beijing said that both were sides Agreed on the structure of a new deal To end a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
As it stands, China has faced the August 12 deadline-a growing tight-for-tat trade tariff to attack a new business deal with the US-US-US-America-countries have been engaged in countries since returning to the White House in January.
Mr. Trump imposed tariffs of up to 145% on imports from China, and Beijing responded with his own standing import duties, but both sides agreed to a truss to allow for negotiations. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has imposed 30% tariffs on imports from China, the time limit of August 12 is pending, when there will be a lot of rates by both Washington and Beijing if no compromise is made.
The deadlock has increased the risks for business American companies in China that had already been growing for many years.
In June 2023, after Chinese officials Officers raided Among many US-based firms, Beijing-based business lawyer James Zimarman Told CBS News It seemed that everything was being taken by the Communist Party as a possible threat.
“Unfortunately, it is very difficult to operate in that kind of environment – when everything is seen as a national security matter and … it seems like … what you do can be considered to spy,” he said.
Contributed to this report.
