US Government Issues Ban on Sexual Relations and Dating with Chinese Nationals... First Since the Cold War

Concerns Over "Honey Trap" Tactics... Ban on Dating Chinese Nationals
Immediate Recall or Dismissal for Violations
First Comprehensive "Social Ban" Since the Cold War
"U.S. Distrust Toward China Deepening"

The U.S. government has issued a "ban on dating and sexual relations with Chinese nationals" to government agency employees stationed in China. Although employees were previously required to report intimate relationships with Chinese nationals, an outright ban had not been imposed. Foreign media analyzed this as a sign of deepening U.S. distrust toward China amid escalating U.S.-China trade tensions.

According to the Associated Press and others on the 3rd, this measure applies not only to regular staff at the embassy in Beijing and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan, as well as consulates in Hong Kong and Macau, but also to contract employees with security clearance. It is known that this policy was introduced just before Nicholas Burns, the former U.S. ambassador to China, retired in January.

Donald Trump, President of the United States (left), and Xi Jinping, President of China. Photo by Yonhap News

This policy was communicated verbally and via electronic communication without an official announcement, and employees who violate it are reportedly required to leave China immediately. However, employees who have previously had relationships with Chinese nationals may apply for an exemption. If the exemption request is denied, they must either end the relationship or resign from their position. Additionally, any violation of the ban results in immediate recall to the United States.

The media noted that while some U.S. government agencies have imposed similar restrictions in the past, this is the first time since the Cold War that such a comprehensive social ban policy has been implemented. Previously, in 1987, after a U.S. Marine stationed in Moscow was seduced by a Soviet spy, the U.S. government prohibited government agencies and related personnel stationed in the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc countries, and China from forming friendships or engaging in sexual relations with locals of the opposite sex. This policy was relaxed only after the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended in 1991.

U.S. diplomats and intelligence experts have pointed out that the Chinese government actively uses "honey trap" strategies to obtain confidential information. U.S. diplomats receive training on cases where Chinese intelligence agencies send attractive female agents to seduce U.S. diplomats before their assignments in China. They are also warned that dozens of Chinese state security agents may be assigned to monitor specific diplomats.