Chinese police question staff of US consulting firm Bain & Company at Shanghai office
Authorities' questioning of Bain & Company's staff members at the firm's Shanghai comes amid heightened tension between China and the US
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Chinese police have visited the Shanghai office of U.S. consulting firm Bain & Company and questioned some staff, the company confirmed Thursday.
"We can confirm that the Chinese authorities have questioned staff in our Shanghai office," Bain told FOX Business in a statement.
The view from the observation deck at Shanghai Tower in Shanghai, China, on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company said it was cooperating with Chinese authorities and provided no additional details.
The confirmation came after The Financial Times reported Wednesday that police made multiple unannounced visits to the company’s office and took away computers and phones.
According to the company’s website, Bain & Company’s Shanghai office was opened in 2004. The company also has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong.
The unannounced visit comes a month after Chinese authorities raided the Beijing office of the New York-based due diligence firm, Mintz Group, and detained five staff members.
FILE: Bain & Company is a management consulting firm, formerly managed by Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney headquartered in the Back Bay section of Boston, MA. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
Both incidents underscore the tensions that have grown between China and the U.S. in recent years. American companies have expressed fears that China is retaliating against U.S. firms operating on the mainland in response to actions by the Biden administration targeting Chinese tech companies in the U.S.
A recent survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China revealed that U.S. firms operating in China are increasingly pessimistic about their prospects there. China, meanwhile, says it welcomes foreign trade and investment but stressed that its security comes first.
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FOX Business has reached out to the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai for more information.
Reuters contributed to this report.