China has freed five Mintz Group employees who were detained in 2023 — an apparent effort to win over foreign firms as investment from overseas tumbles.
“We understand that the Mintz Group Beijing employees who were detained, all Chinese nationals, have now all been released,” a spokesperson for the due-diligence company said Tuesday. “We are grateful to the Chinese authorities that our former colleagues can now be home with their families.”
The spokesperson didn’t say when the five were freed. The Financial Times first reported the story.
The move comes as China steps up efforts to lure globals firms after inbound investment tumbled last year to its lowest in over three decades. On Sunday in Beijing, Premier Li Qiang addressed a gathering of top executives from FedEx Corp., Boeing Co., Pfizer Inc., Qualcomm Inc. and others, saying countries should open up markets in the face of growing economic fragmentation.
Li also met Republican Senator Steve Daines at the start of the China Development Forum. Daines, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, spoke earlier with Vice Premier He Lifeng — a rare public exchange between US and Chinese officials since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Albert Bourla of Pfizer and Saudi Aramco’s Amin Nasser were also visiting for the forum, a platform dating back to 2000 that facilitates high-level dialog between China and the world. Plans were being made for corporate heavyweights to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, Bloomberg News reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter.
Beijing has rattled foreign firms in recent years by stepping up its scrutiny of Western businesses as tensions with the US mounted. In March 2023, authorities raided New York-based Mintz’s office in Beijing and detained the five employees.
US consultancy Bain & Company and Capvision Pro Corp., a global expert network, were also targeted. China provided few details on its moves but state media said the raid of Capvision’s offices was part of an anti-espionage crackdown on consulting firms.
Xi has put a priority on protecting national security even as China tries to encourage foreign investment to help revive the economy. Beijing has taken steps to tighten control over sensitive data, especially in the wake of US sanctions targeting important industries such as chipmaking.