Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian

China expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the unwarranted interrogation and detention of personnel from Chinese companies by US authorities for nearly 60 hours upon entering the US, as well as their subsequent repatriation, a spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday. 

Lin Jian, spokesperson of the ministry, made the comments at the regular press conference on Monday.

Lin said that the US law enforcement authorities have more than once interrogated and detained multiple Chinese companies staff for a long time before repatriating them without any just cause. 

Such harsh law enforcement actions severely violate the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals, dampen the atmosphere for sound business cooperation and people-to-people exchanges and are diametrically opposed to the two presidents' agreement in Busan to strengthen business cooperation, he said.

Lin urged the US to take China's concerns seriously. "We call on the US law enforcement authorities to immediately stop the wrongdoings, stop wrongfully interrogating Chinese businesspeople, faithfully act on the important common understandings reached between the two presidents, and not disrupt the normal friendly exchanges between Chinese and Americans," Lin added. 

China will continue to take resolute measures to firmly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals, the spokesperson noted.

This is not the first time that the US has taken such action. In October 2025, it was reported that another Chinese national was wrongfully interrogated and detained when entering the US, whose personal freedom was restricted for more than 48 hours before repatriation.

In response, Guo Jiakun, another spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, told a press conference in October that China expressed strong indignation and condemned the incident. Such moves severely damage the lawful rights and interests as well as the dignity of the Chinese nationals concerned, and disrupt normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the US.

"The recent US actions have seriously hindered normal economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges between China and the US," Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Monday, warning that such measures will affect potential partners, causing more individuals who intend to travel to the US for cultural exchanges, business cooperation, or economic activities to hesitate or give up altogether.

People-to-people exchanges form the foundation of relations between the two countries, and normal exchanges in the economic and trade fields between China and US also serve as an important driving force for promoting the in-depth development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Such exchanges should be equal and two-way, Zhou said.

During the 2026 Annual Appreciation Dinner hosted by AmCham China on January 29 in Beijing, Wang Yong, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, called on the Chinese and US business communities to deepen practical cooperation to promote the steady, long-term development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations. He said China will steadfastly deepen its reform, expand its opening up and advance its innovation. It will also continuously unleash growth vitality through high-quality development, which will provide a big stage for enterprises from countries including the US.

AmCham China Chairman James Zimmerman highlighted the resilience of the American business community in China and urged both governments to build on positive momentum in 2026 by providing greater clarity, predictability, and guardrails for the bilateral economic relationship.

China has always been committed to fostering a favorable environment for economic and trade exchanges between China and the US, Zhou said, urging the US side to take concrete action so that both sides can work together to advance friendly exchanges and cooperation between the business communities of the two countries.