12 hours ago
Last Updated:April 04, 2025, 20:38 IST
The "non-fraternisation" policy was put into effect in January by former US Ambassador Nicholas Burns shortly before he left China, banning any romantic relations with Chinese nationals.
The Trump administration has banned govt personnel from "romantic, sexual relationships" with Chinese nationals.
The Donald Trump administration has imposed a ban on American government personnel in China, including their family members and contractors with security clearances, from pursuing romantic and sexual relationships with Chinese citizens.
Four people with direct knowledge of the matter told the Associated Press that the policy was put into effect in January by former US Ambassador Nicholas Burns shortly before he left China. While US agencies already have strict rules on such relationships, a blanket “non-fraternisation" policy had been unheard of publicly since the Cold War.
It was not uncommon for American diplomats in other countries to date locals and even marry them. However, due to geopolitical rivalries and security concerns, a policy was enacted last summer prohibiting US personnel from “romantic and sexual relations" with Chinese citizens working as guards and other support staff at the US embassy and five consulates in China.
However, Burns broadened it to a blanket ban on such relations with any Chinese citizen in China in January, days before President Donald Trump took office, prohibiting any “romantic and sexual" relationship, after members of the US Congress said the restrictions on such relationships were not stringent enough, according to two people with the knowledge.
Where Does This New Policy Apply To?
The new policy covers US missions in mainland China, including the embassy in Beijing and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan, as well as the American consulate in the semi-autonomous territory of Hong Kong. It does not apply to US personnel stationed outside China.
US personnel with pre-existing relations with Chinese nationals can apply for exemptions. If the exemption is denied, they must end the relationship or leave their position, the people said. Anyone who violates the policy will be ordered to leave China immediately.
This policy has been communicated verbally to all US government personnel stationed in January but was not personally announced. The US State Department said it does not comment on internal matters, while Burns did not reply to a request on his email address.
Why Was This Policy Introduced?
Intelligence services across the world have long used attractive men and women to obtain sensitive information, particularly during the Cold War. Several US agencies had stringent requirements on personal relationships for American personnel stationed in China, as well as countries with high intelligence threats like Russia or Cuba.
According to declassified State Department records, the US government in 1987 barred personnel stationed in the Soviet Union and China from befriending, dating or having sex with locals after a US Marine in Moscow was seduced by a Soviet spy. These restrictions were relaxed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Until the new ban in January, US personnel in China were required to report any intimate contact with Chinese citizens to their supervisors, but were not explicitly forbidden from sexual or romantic relationships. However, several diplomats and intelligence experts say Beijing has aggressively used ‘honeypots’ to obtain sensitive American information.
In recent years, tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated over trade, technology and geopolitical competition. The two countries are officially at the start of a new trade war after Trump imposed harsh tariffs on Chinese goods, to which Beijing replied with counter-tariffs of its own.
Peter Mattis, a former CIA analyst and president of The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, said there were at least two publicized cases in which Chinese agents seduced American diplomats stationed in China, though he hasn’t heard of such a case in recent years.
(with agency inputs)
Location :Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:April 04, 2025, 20:28 IST
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