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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is stopping certain foreigners from leaving China. This policy is shrouded in legal ambiguity and, at the very least, raises alarms over freedom of movement, international investment, and diplomatic norms.
But the implications could be far worse.
Exit Bans: A Looming Threat for Foreigners in China
China is increasingly enforcing “exit bans”—legal restrictions preventing individuals from leaving the country—against both Chinese and foreign nationals. Vaguely defined national security reasons justify them.
Although not new events, exit bans became more common since Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012. They have ramped up significantly of late. Between 2016 and 2022, mentions of exit bans in China’s Supreme People’s Court database rose eightfold, according to human rights group Safeguard Defenders.
They were originally tied to legal disputes, but the scope has broadened under national security laws enacted or amended from 2018 onward.
Recent High-Profile Cases Raise More Concerns
In one instance in July, a U.S. citizen and managing director at Wells Fargo based in Atlanta was barred from leaving China. Authorities stated she was “involved in a criminal case,” although details remain undisclosed. In response, Wells Fargo suspended all employee travel to China.
A naturalized U.S. citizen and employee of the Patent and Trademark Office was stopped upon arrival in Chengdu in April and blocked from exiting. Reports suggest that this stemmed from his failure to disclose his U.S. government affiliation on his visa. The case is widely regarded as the first involving a U.S. federal worker under an exit ban.
It’s important to note that these cases are qualitatively different from stopping a foreigner from leaving for any specific crimes they may have committed. These cases are ominous because of the professional and governmental profiles of the detainees. The nontransparent, abrupt application of exit bans appears to be aimed at targeting diplomats, businesspeople, or government staff.
Widespread Impact on Foreign Executives, Companies
What’s more, the bans go beyond just U.S. citizens to a broad range of foreign businesspeople.
For example, executives from Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Nomura, UBS, and Kroll—companies from Japan and Europe—have been investigated or placed under travel curbs.
On occasion, an exit ban may extend to individuals not even directly implicated in legal proceedings. This highly irregular practice of law enforcement gained wider fame when due diligence and consulting firms such as Mintz were targeted, which resulted in staff detentions and significant fines.
Such bans and corporate persecution only cast more shadows of doubt over China’s deteriorating business climate.
Are We Seeing Hostage Diplomacy Tactics?
It could be reasonably argued that Beijing’s exit bans are a form of hostage diplomacy. In some cases, even family members of those under exit bans have been prevented from leaving China. By holding U.S. citizens or citizens of other nations against their will, is the CCP sending political messages to the governments of the hostages?
That appears to be the case. From 1995 to 2019, of the 128 cases of foreigners who were prevented from leaving, 29 were Americans and 44 were Canadians, according to a 2022 academic paper by Chris Carr and Jack Wroldsen. Plus, the number of laws to justify the exit bans has increased in recent years.
Expanding Legal Definitions, Travel Advisories
That’s likely because legal definitions of national security have been expanded in recent years, especially laws regarding counterespionage, which give Chinese authorities greater power to impose exit bans without clear definitions or due process. Like the laws allowing intellectual property theft, the widening application of exit bans adds to the uncertainty for foreigners conducting business in China.
As a result, even though many business travelers have no problems leaving China, the U.S. State Department has classified travel to China with a heightened caution warning. People in sensitive roles or with dual nationality, such as those with Chinese and U.S. citizenship, face elevated risks. They’re advised to take extra precautions, such as using clean devices, minimizing their digital footprints, assessing personal risk factors, and reviewing travel protocols.
Beijing Gaining Leverage Where It Can
The big question is: Why would Beijing prohibit foreigners from leaving China?
There may be several answers to that question, ranging from actual breaches of law by the detainee to attempts by Chinese authorities to gather information or influence a company’s or nation’s policy toward China.
The upshot is that, whatever the reason, the CCP weighs the potential consequences of applying exit bans on specific individuals and implements them when it thinks it’s in its interest to do so. The rising tensions between Beijing and Washington appear to be a significant factor, suggesting that Beijing may be attempting to gain leverage wherever possible.
The Chilling Effect on Business, Diplomacy
Understandably, this behavior undercuts global confidence in China in a number of ways.
For instance, foreign companies may no longer view China as a safe and profitable place to invest or with which to partner. The high investment capital outflows attest to that fact. It also makes business executives nervous about accepting posts in China, reinforcing the idea that Beijing has a long reach in the world when it comes to dealing with dual citizens who think they’re out of reach of the CCP.
Diplomatically, it adds fuel to a diplomatic fire between Beijing and Washington. The immediate outcome is to lower trust and raise suspicions between the two nations. Given the ongoing trade and tariff negotiations and the competition for geopolitical influence, the gap between the two is widening.
The exit bans are a deliberate decision made by the CCP authorities, and it doesn’t appear that they’re too concerned about the consequences.
That should tell us something.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
