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.
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