US consultancy giant Bain & Company said on Thursday (April 27) that its office in Shanghai saw a visit from Chinese authorities who questioned the company staff. The news was first reported by The Finacial Times on Wednesday citing multiple sources. Two weeks ago, police made a surprise visit to Bain & Company office.
Bain, which provides strategy and management consulting services worldwide, confirmed that its employees had been questioned in an emailed statement but did not specify why.
“We are cooperating as appropriate with the Chinese authorities,” it read. “At this time, we have no further comment.”
Phones and computers were taken away, but no one was detained, the FT said.
It added that the news has fuelled concern among US companies operating in the country that Beijing might take retaliatory action against them for Washington’s moves against Chinese firms.
Last month, US due diligence firm Mintz Group said Chinese police had arrested five of its local employees and shut down its Beijing office.
Authorities later said the company was being investigated for “illegal” activities.
A few days later, China’s top cybersecurity regulator said it was investigating leading US memory chipmaker Micron Technology and would review its products over “national security concerns”.
Reuters reported that the US embassy in China and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Financial Times said that the police made more than one visit to Bain & Company offices in Shanghai. The news outlet said that the purpose was not immediately clear and whether the raids were connected to the firm or its clients.
US and China have found themselves on the opposite sides of number of global issues and the US has turned on heat on Chinese companies especially tech companies operating in the US.
Huawei, the Chinese company which was once a major global name in smartphone market has found US government on its heels. Even TikTok, the hugely popular social media app has drawn data security concerns in the US and other countries in the Western sphere.
There is reportedly some fear among US companies that China might do the same in retaliation.
US businesses operating in China are increasingly pessimistic about their prospects in the world’s second-largest economy, according to a survey released this month by the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
China has said it welcomes foreign trade and investment but stressed that security comes before development.
Over two years, Beijing has clamped down on antitrust violations, banned private tuition groups and reined in a debt binge by property developers, wiping hundreds of billions off the market capitalisations of some of its largest companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba and social media giant Tencent.
(With inputs from agencies)
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