The US embassy in Beijing is among American diplomatic outposts in China where diplomats, staff and contractors are banned from fraternising with Chinese citizens. - Photo: AFP
BEIJING: The US government has imposed a sweeping ban prohibiting American diplomats, their families and security-cleared contractors in China from engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens, Associated Press has reported.
The policy applies to staff at the US embassy in Beijing and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan, as well as the consulate in Hong Kong.
US personnel stationed outside China or those already in pre-existing relationships with Chinese citizens might be exempt, the report said, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.
A less restrictive version of the policy was introduced last summer, prohibiting US personnel from having “romantic and sexual relations” with Chinese citizens working as guards and other support staff at the US embassy and five consulates in China.
The ban, implemented days before US ambassador Nicholas Burns left his post in January.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, declined to comment and referred reporters to the US government when asked to comment in a regular media briefing on Thursday afternoon.
“I think you’d better ask the American side about this question,” Guo said.
“As a general matter, we do not comment on personnel issues,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement emailed to the Post.
It is not clear how the policy defines prohibited relationships or how strictly the new rules will be enforced.
US personnel already in relationships with Chinese citizens may apply for a waiver, but if they are not granted a waiver they must either terminate the relationship or face being removed from their post.
Those found violating the ban will be subject to immediate expulsion from China, according to the report.
The strict enforcement highlights the US government’s heightened concerns over security risks and determination to prevent potential foreign influence through personal ties.
Such sweeping “non-fraternisation” measures have not been publicly declared policy since the Cold War era.
According to historical documents on the CIA website, in 1987 the US government prohibited personnel stationed in “high intelligence threat countries” – including China and the Soviet Union – from having intimate personal relationships with locals.
The policy was intended to prevent them being exploited by foreign intelligence services.
The latest ban comes amid increasing tension between the two countries, arising from security disputes to trade friction and tech rivalries.
China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US, according to an American intelligence report released last month.
The annual threat assessment by the intelligence community pointed out that China has the ability to strike the US with conventional weapons, compromise US infrastructure through cyberattacks and target its assets in space.
From China’s side, Beijing has accused the US of attacking its cybersecurity.
A report released by the Chinese National Computer Virus Emergency Response Centre on Thursday (April 3) said that during the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin in February, external forces attempted to disrupt and interfere with the event through cyberattacks.
According to the monitoring data, 63.24 per cent of the detected attacks originated in the US.
“The US and its allies are the main source of cyberattacks targeting China,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo said on Thursday, adding that China would continue to do what is necessary to protect its cybersecurity.
“China urges the US to adopt a responsible attitude and take a harder look at itself.”
The tensions between Beijing and Washington are expected to worsen during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Last month, Republicans in the US House of Representatives sought to introduce a bill to prevent Chinese citizens from obtaining student visas, citing the threat of espionage.
The bill targets all Chinese nationals, regardless of the student’s field or level of study.
Representative Riley Moore of West Virginia, the bill’s sponsor, had previously said that far too many Chinese students were intelligence gatherers or paid spies for China’s Communist Party.
On the economy front, Trump imposed two rounds of 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, first in February and then in March.
On Wednesday, he announced a new 34 per cent reciprocal tariff to be imposed on China. - South China Morning Post
