E-Paper
No relationships, sex with locals: Trump admin's directive to employees in China
A new US policy prohibits romantic ties between government staff in China and Chinese nationals, reflecting heightened espionage concerns.
The US government has imposed a ban on romantic and sexual relationships between government personnel based in China and Chinese citizens. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the directive, which applies to diplomats, family members, and contractors with security clearances, was introduced in January by departing US Ambassador Nicholas Burns, just before his exit from China.
The ban, which covers US missions in mainland China, including the embassy in Beijing and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan, and Hong Kong, prohibits any romantic or sexual relations between American personnel and Chinese nationals.
It also extends to family members and contractors with access to sensitive information.
The new directive does not apply to US personnel stationed outside China, and those with pre-existing relationships with Chinese citizens may apply for an exemption, though any denial would force them to end the relationship or leave their post.
The policy, which has not been publicly announced but was communicated internally to US personnel in January, underscores the increasingly strained relationship between the United States and China.
It comes amid ongoing disputes over trade, technology, and global influence.
Cold war-like rules
The new ban is seen as a significant shift, harking back to the Cold War era, when similar restrictions were enforced on US personnel in Soviet-controlled territories and China. In those times, the US government imposed strict rules on diplomats to prevent espionage and the potential compromise of sensitive information through personal relationships.
The policy was relaxed after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but the recent move indicates that Washington believes the risk of espionage and intelligence gathering by Chinese authorities has heightened in recent years.
Rising tensions, tighter controls
In recent years, tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated over trade, technology and geopolitical competition.
Peter Mattis, a former CIA analyst and president of The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, said there were at least two publicized cases in which Chinese agents seduced American diplomats stationed in China, though he hasn’t heard of such a case in recent years.
Mattis added that another issue is that Chinese state security doesn’t gather intelligence just through spies, but also by pressing ordinary Chinese people for information, often through threats or intimidation. That, Mattis said, means any Chinese citizen who dates an American diplomat could be vulnerable to coercion.
“The MSS is willing to leverage any human connection that a target has to collect intelligence,” Mattis said, using an acronym referring to China’s Ministry of State Security. “This rule change suggests the MSS has gotten a lot more aggressive at trying to access the embassy and U.S. government.”
