Chinese Police Question Bain & Co. Staff

Facts

• On Thursday, US consultancy firm Bain & Company confirmed that Chinese police visited its office in Shanghai, which has been open in the city's central business district since 2004, and questioned staff.¹
• The Boston-based company declined to comment beyond saying it was cooperating with authorities, though the Financial Times has reported that police took away computers and phones.²
• This surprise visit, which reportedly occurred two weeks ago, comes after Chinese authorities raided the Beijing office of US due diligence firm Mintz Group and detained five local staff. China has also suspended Deloitte's operations in Beijing for three months and levied a fine against the Big Four accounting firm.³
• According to a survey of foreign executives released Wednesday by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Sino-US tensions are the biggest worry for US companies this year, with almost nine in 10 saying they were pessimistic or slightly pessimistic about US-China relations.²
• While China's cybersecurity watchdog last month announced a probe into the security of products made by US memory chipmaker Micron Technology, the new Premier Li Qiang has sought to reassure businesses that the country is open for business after the pandemic.⁴
• Such moves are seen as retaliation for US restrictions on chip-making exports to China, with 68% of companies polled citing Sino-US tensions and other geopolitical risks as the main reason for foreign employees refusing China-based assignments.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Wall Street Journal, ³FT, ⁴Al Jazeera, and ⁵CNN.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Forbes. As Beijing grows increasingly aggressive toward the US and its regional allies like Taiwan, it's important for American businesses to follow the government's lead in diversifying away from China and into safe markets. China is trying to use industry, particularly technology and chip manufacturing, to rival Western economies and militaries, which is why a joint public-private operation to deter Chinese expansion is more important than ever.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. Solely out of its superficial fear of losing its role as the only global superpower, the US has worked to antagonize China and persuade its Western allies to cut their economic ties as well. Since Washington has chosen to threaten the economic and national security of China, it's only right for Beijing to focus on building the strongest defense it can. The government has a duty to ensure US businesses and its military are not attempting to injure the interests of the Chinese people.

Predictions