UPDATE: Donald Trump Takes Office as the 47th US President
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US bans government personnel in China from romantic or sexual relations with Chinese citizens
DAKE KANG, MATTHEW LEE and DIDI TANGWed, April 2, 2025 at 9:09 PM PDT
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FILE - Uniformed and plainclothes security officers stand guard outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Aug. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has banned American government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens, The Associated Press has learned.
Four people with direct knowledge of the matter told the AP about the policy, which was put into effect by departing U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns in January shortly before he left China. The people would speak only on condition of anonymity to discuss details of a confidential new directive.
Though some U.S. agencies already had strict rules on such relationships, a blanket “non-fraternization” policy, as it is known, has been unheard of publicly since the Cold War. It’s not uncommon for American diplomats in other countries to date locals and even marry them.
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A more limited version of the policy was enacted last summer prohibiting U.S. personnel from “romantic and sexual relations” with Chinese citizens working as guards and other support staff at the U.S. Embassy and five consulates in China. But Burns, the departing ambassador, broadened it to a blanket ban on such relations with any Chinese citizen in China in January, days before President Donald Trump took office. The AP was unable to determine exactly how the policy defined the phrase “romantic or sexual relationship."
Two of the people with knowledge of the ban told the AP the new policy was first discussed last summer after members of Congress contacted Burns to express concern that restrictions on such relationships were not stringent enough. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party did not respond to a request for comment.
The new policy covers U.S. 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 U.S. personnel stationed outside China.
The only exception to the policy is U.S. personnel with pre-existing relations with Chinese citizens; they 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.
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The policy was communicated verbally and electronically to American personnel in China in January, but has not been publicly announced.
The State Department said it does not comment on internal matters. The National Security Council referred questions to the State Department. Burns, the former ambassador, did not reply to an AP request sent to his email address at The Cohen Group, a consultancy that he rejoined as vice chair in February.
A Cold War throwback
Intelligence services across the world have long used attractive men and women to obtain sensitive information, famously during the Cold War. The State Department and other agencies with offices in China have long had stringent reporting requirements on personal relationships for American personnel stationed there, as well as rivals considered high intelligence threats such as Russia or Cuba.
Declassified State Department documents show that in 1987, the U.S. government barred personnel stationed in the Soviet bloc and China from befriending, dating or having sex with locals after a U.S. Marine in Moscow was seduced by a Soviet spy. Such restrictions were relaxed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, according to news reports at the time.
In China, a blanket ban on such relations has not been in effect for many years. Until the new ban in January, U.S. 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.
U.S. diplomats and intelligence experts say that Beijing continues to aggressively use so-called honeypots to access American secrets. In presentations before being stationed in China, U.S. personnel are briefed on case studies where Chinese intelligence services sent attractive women to seduce American diplomats, and warned that dozens of Chinese state security agents can be assigned to monitor any individual diplomat of interest.
Little is known about the U.S. government’s non-fraternization policies elsewhere, as they are considered classified. It is unknown how restrictive such policies are in other countries.
Rising tensions, tighter controls
In recent years, tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated over trade, technologyand geopolitical competition.
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.
Mattis added that another issue is that Chinese state security doesn’t gather intelligence just through spies, but also by pressing ordinary Chinese people for information, often through threats or intimidation. That, Mattis said, means any Chinese citizen who dates an American diplomat could be vulnerable to coercion.
“The MSS is willing to leverage any human connection that a target has to collect intelligence,” Mattis said, using an acronym referring to China’s Ministry of State Security. “This rule change suggests the MSS has gotten a lot more aggressive at trying to access the embassy and U.S. government.”
The Chinese foreign ministry did not comment on the ban, saying in a faxed statement that it was “more appropriate to ask the U.S. about this question.”
China also has been tightening already strict controls on its personnel overseas, according to Chinese regulations, news reports and four people familiar with China’s bureaucracy who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could discuss a sensitive topic. In recent years, Beijing began strictly enforcing regulations that bar promotions for Chinese civil servants with spouses who acquired foreign citizenship and restrict diplomats from spending an extended period of time in one country, forcing some to return to China.
China’s foreign ministry and many other government bodies bar their officials and staff from sexual or romantic relations with foreign citizens, while members of the Chinese military or police are generally barred from leaving China altogether without express approval from their supervisors.
I thought they said the economy was the most important? I understand that there is “Political lying”. I get why in politics you can’t always be truthful.
But this cracks lies as easily as he breathes. Everytime you place a mic in front of him he is lying. And this is the person they trusted?
No govt safety nets either.Laying people off and killing peoples 401K's so they can't retire now
You get layed off, the fuck you supposed to do do??? Hiring freezes bout to start at the very least if companies don't start mass layoffs.
This should be major news everywhere
The stock market was headed for another pounding Friday after China retaliated with new tariffs on U.S. goods, raising fears a trade war will tip the globe into a recession.
Futures tied to the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,146 points, or 2.7%. Futures levels indicated the Dow would open official trading about 1,100 points lower. This follows a 1,679.39 point decline on Thursday. S&P 500 futures lost 2.6% after the benchmark shed 4.84% on Thursday.
Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 3.1% as many tech companies have exposure to China.
China’s commerce ministry said Friday the country will impose a 34% levy on all U.S. products. This matches the tariff on Chinese goods coming into the U.S. unveiled by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
“The Trump administration may be playing a game of chicken with trading partners, but market participants aren’t willing to wait around for the results,” said Michael Arone, SPDR chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “Investors are selling first and asking questions later.”
Companies with large exposure to China led declines in premarket trading with Apple and Qualcomm down 5% and 6%, respectively. Tesla lost 5% and Caterpillar shed 6%. Nvidia fell about 4%.
Bank stocks tumbled in the premarket as worries of a U.S. economic slowdown grew. Morgan Stanley dropped 5%, while Goldman Sachs shed 4.5%. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase each slid more than 4%, while Wells Fargo dipped 5%.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell back below 4% Friday as investors flooded into bonds for safety, pushing prices up and rates lower. JPMorgan late Thursday raised the odds of a recession this year to 60% from 40%.
Seems like he didn't learn his lesson the last time Jon Stewart ripped him a new one...lets see how it goes on Monday.
Trump’s Tariffs Are Expected To Raise New-Home Costs by $9,200—and These States Will Feel the Most Pain and More News
What are the states doing about it? Folks should contact their local legislative to take control of the mortgage and insurance infrastructure. Folks should not lose their homes.No govt safety nets either.
I hear you... But SHOULD with today's govt antics isn't something to have confidence in. None of this SHOULD be happening, but here we are.
Listen I've been a States Rights Guy since early November. What are the states going to do to ensure black families don't lose their homes in this domestic economic ter-word?
Black people??? Not a fuck thing. Some states may do something in general, but specifically for black people??? If you know of one, let me know.
People have to work multiple jobs now, just to survive
And a lot of companies don't want to pay full time benefits anymore
So I think people are probably working 2 part times jobs, instead of 1 full time job
It makes the "numbers" look good, when they report it in the media
Remember, this is from February. When the next will come out next month is going to be fucked up. Even though that number is a bit high.
Only because its hurting THEIR pockets. F these folks. Lettem feel the PAAAAAAAAAAIN
Trump has really drew the curtains back on all of this white on white hate.