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Bain and Company, a U.S. consulting firm, is the latest American company to have been targeted by Chinese police as business relations between China and the United States continue to deteriorate.
Sources told the the Financial Times that Chinese authorities visited the firm’s Shanghai offices two weeks ago, but added that authorities only took away computers and phones without detaining employees. It wasn’t clear whether they were investigating the blue-chip firm or one if its clients. Bain did not reply to Semafor’s request for comment.
Here’s a look at other American businesses that have been targeted by Chinese authorities in recent weeks.
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Mintz Group
Beijing police in March unexpectedly raided and shut the offices of the due diligence firm, while also detaining five employees who were Chinese nationals.
Authorities have so far remained largely silent on the case, with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs later saying that the firm was ”suspected of illegal operations.”
The company specializes in background checks, fact gathering, and internal investigations, and clients have included the National Football League and The Beatles.
Micron Technology
China’s internet regulator began investigating the Idaho-based chip manufacturer in March, citing national security concerns, but characterized the move as a ”normal regulatory measure.”
The crackdown came months after President Joe Biden announced sweeping restrictions against China’s semiconductor industry, but Micron had already told investors that it had planned to dwindle-down its Chinese operations, citing excessive hurdles to business expansion in Beijing.
But Micron now faces an outright ban in China, prompting U.S. lawmakers to urge South Korea to not fill voids in China’s chip supply if the company is axed.
Deloitte
Chinese authorities shut down Deloitte’s Beijing operations for three months in March, accusing the accounting firm of “serious audit deficiencies” in its work with a state-owned asset management company.
The company was also slapped with a $30.8 million fine. Deloitte said it “regretted” that the Chinese government found its work “below standards,” but emphasized that it was not involved in any unethical business practices.
Raytheon Missiles and Defense and Lockheed Martin Corp.
The country’s Ministry of Commerce last week announced a set of sanctions against weapon manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed over their sales to Taiwan.
Chinese companies are now prohibited from import or export activities with the two companies, and executives from both suppliers are banned from entering China.
Raytheon was awarded a $412 million contract last year to upgrade Taiwanese military radar as part of a $1.1 billion package of U.S. arms sales to the island.
Step Back
China experts have said that the targeting of U.S. companies is in retaliation for Washington cracking down on Chinese business activity in the U.S., including a recent Congressional hearing where the CEO of TikTok was grilled .
But some major U.S. corporations appear to be circumventing the diplomatic crisis and expanding business ties with Beijing. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently visited China and met with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao to discuss things like supply chain stabilization.