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

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Jul 22, 2025 - 09:57 Updated: Jul 22, 2025 - 00:25
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Beijing Says Wells Fargo Executive Banned From Leaving China ‘Involved in a Criminal Case’
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A Wells Fargo executive banned from leaving China last week is “involved in a criminal case,” China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday after the exit ban raised fears about doing business in the country.
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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 Guo Jia kun said 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 our 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” due to “arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans.”

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

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

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

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.”

The Epoch Times contacted Wells Fargo for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Alex Wu and Reuters contributed to this report.
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