Chinese police visited US management consultancy Bain & Co’s office in Shanghai and questioned staff, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“We are cooperating as appropriate with the Chinese authorities,” the spokesperson told Reuters by e-mail. “At this time, we have no further comment.”
The US embassy in China and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Police took away computers and cellphones, but did not detain any employees, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the surprise visit two weeks ago.
The police made more than one visit to Bain in Shanghai, it said, adding that the purpose was not immediately clear, nor whether the raids were connected to the firm or its clients.
RETALIATION
US companies worry that China could be stepping up retaliatory action due to measures taken against Chinese firms by US President Joe Biden’s administration.
Chinese authorities last month raided the office of US corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group in Beijing and detained five local staff.
US businesses operating in China are increasingly pessimistic about their prospects in the world’s second-largest economy, a survey released this month by the American Chamber of Commerce in China showed.
China has said it welcomes foreign trade and investment, but stressed that security comes before development.
CRACKDOWN
Beijing has clamped down on antitrust contraventions, banned private tuition groups and reined in a debt binge by property developers, wiping hundreds of billions of US dollars off the market value of some of its largest companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba (阿里巴巴) and social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊).
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