Beijing Alleges Wells Fargo Executive Banned From Leaving China ‘Involved in a Criminal Case’

A Wells Fargo executive banned from leaving China last week is “involved in a criminal case,” China’s Foreign Ministry said on July 21 after the exit ban raised fears about doing business in the country.

On July 17, Wells Fargo said it was “tracking this situation” and trying to secure the return of its employee to the United States after media reports said Mao Chenyue, an Atlanta-based managing director at the bank, was prevented from leaving China, leading to the bank’s suspension of travel to China.

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Speaking from Beijing at a daily press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun alleged Mao “is involved in a criminal case currently being handled by Chinese law-enforcement authorities and is subjected to exit restrictions in accordance with the law.”

Guo said the bank executive “has an obligation” to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

Following reports on Mao’s exit ban, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said it had raised concerns about “the impact arbitrary exit bans on U.S. citizens have on … bilateral relations” and urged the Chinese communist regime to “immediately allow impacted U.S. citizens to return home.”

The United States does not provide an official figure for how many citizens are detained abroad, but the Dui Hua Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the release of political prisoners in China, estimates there are more than 200 Americans in China alone who are wrongfully detained or facing coercive measures, such as exit bans.

The U.S. State Department updated its travel advisory for mainland China in November 2024, saying visitors should “exercise increased caution” because of “arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans.”

Mao, who was born in Shanghai, was residing in Atlanta, according to a June statement from FCI, a global network of companies involved in factoring and financing trade receivables. FCI was formerly known as Factors Chain International.

The statement announced Mao’s selection as chair of its executive committee.

It said that Mao spearheads the bank’s international factoring business and advises multinational clients on cross-border working-capital strategies. Factoring is a financing method in which companies sell receivables to third parties, such as banks, in exchange for immediate cash.

According to FCI’s website, the group has more than 350 member organisations across five continents, including 42 members in China and 13 members in the United States. Wells Fargo is one of its U.S. members.

Wells Fargo’s China presence is much smaller than that of its Wall Street peers. According to the bank’s website, it has just two branches in China: one in Beijing and another in Shanghai.

Yeh Yao-Yuan, professor of political science and international studies at the University of St. Thomas, told The Epoch Times on July 18 that China often detains people on charges of espionage and economic crimes, but that “the charges often lack transparency or evidence and are more for diplomatic leverage.”

“Hostage diplomacy” has become a common practice of the CCP, he said.

Recent examples include a Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma who was detained in 2023 on spying charges. He was sentenced last week to 3 years and six months in prison. 

In November 2024, the Chinese regime detained Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s International Executive Vice President and China President Leon Wang, because of a reported investigation, with scant information released. The company said in February that it had no access to Wang. 

Yeh said that as the trade tensions and technological competition between the United States and China continue, “such practice may be intended as bargaining chips but will only further deteriorate the business environment and prompt foreign companies to reassess the risks of investing in China.”

Wells Fargo declined to comment.

A spokesperson from the U.S. State Department said it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.”

The FCI didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

Alex Wu and Reuters contributed to this report.