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3d ago

China Keeps U.S. Commerce Department Employee and Wells Fargo Executive Under Exit Bans

U.S. diplomats have demanded their immediate return to challenge China’s use of opaque exit bans.

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A Wells Fargo bank branch in New York, US, on Friday, July 11, 2025. Wells Fargo & Co. is scheduled to release earnings figures on July 15. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping attends an event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Overview

  • A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee, traveling in a personal capacity since mid-April, remains barred from leaving China after authorities flagged a visa disclosure issue.
  • Wells Fargo managing director Chenyue Mao is subject to a criminal exit ban that led the bank to suspend all employee travel to China.
  • The State Department says it is engaging Chinese officials at senior levels to secure the swift release of both Americans and protect citizens abroad.
  • China’s Foreign Ministry insists exit bans comply with domestic law but declines to provide any case-specific details.
  • Experts warn that China’s low-threshold exit bans, imposed in civil, regulatory and security matters, affect dozens of Americans and heighten legal and business risks.