ExclusiveChinese hi-tech researchers ‘told not to travel to US unless it’s essential’
- Research agency staff also warned to clear mobile phones and laptops of sensitive information if they do have to go to America, according to source
Chinese researchers working in sensitive hi-tech sectors have been warned not to take any unnecessary trips to the United States, a source says, as unease grows in the business community following the arrest of a tech executive in Canada.
Staff at a research agency were also told in an internal memo that if they did have to travel to the US, they should remove any sensitive information from their mobile phones and laptops, according to the source who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
Despite the world’s two biggest economies agreeing to a 90-day truce in the trade war, tensions between Beijing and Washington have continued to escalate over technology and security. And the arrest of Huawei Technologies chief financial officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in Canada has further strained ties.
Some researchers have also had their computers and mobile phones subjected to checks by US customs officers, two other sources said.
Observers say they are concerned that it will be more difficult to de-escalate tensions between Beijing and Washington – and the distrust and “information deficit” could worsen – with fewer academic exchanges between the two sides.
An academic who frequently travels across the Pacific feared changing sentiment in the United States, from engagement to disengagement with Beijing, could lead to a US strategy of full-scale containment of China.