In brief
The U.S. Commerce Department employee has been prevented from leaving China since mid-April 2025, facing extensive surveillance and questioning by Chinese intelligence agents about his past military service, as revealed in a recent State Department cable.
With growing tension between the United States and China, a U.S. Commerce Department employee has found himself in a precarious situation, as he has been barred from leaving China since mid-April 2025. According to a State Department cable, Chinese intelligence officers began tracking this American citizen while he was visiting family in southwest China. They interrogated him about his previous service in the U.S. military, heightening concerns for his safety.The troubling circumstances became apparent after the Chinese Ministry of State Security—a key agency for intelligence and counterintelligence—seized the man's passport, credit card, cellphone, and iPad while he was in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Although his passport was returned a week later, an order preventing his departure from the country was enforced. His family, including his wife, remains in the U.S., worrying for his well-being.The cable, dated May 2 and sent to senior officials including the Secretary of State and National Security Council advisors, outlines the U.S. diplomatic effort to facilitate his safe return while he faced heightened surveillance by Chinese authorities. As this story surfaces, it underscored the ongoing complexities and challenges in U.S.-China relations, particularly regarding the treatment of American citizens abroad. The news of this individual’s plight adds to the growing list of instances where the Chinese government is accused of using exit bans as a tool of leverage or intimidation, raising significant alarm for American travelers and officials engaging with China.
