China Arrests Citizen On Espionage Charges After She Did Work For US Company

China has arrested one of its citizens on espionage charges after she did "Administrative" work for a U.S. company, The Guardian reported on Thursday. Chinese citizen Emily Chen was arrested after flying back to China from Doha in late December, on suspicions of providing state secrets to foreign actors, a charge that carries a maximum 10-year penalty in most cases, according to The Guardian. Details surrounding Chen's arrest remain scarce, but her husband, Mark Lent, said that the only tie she had to Dalian was her work there with a U.S. logistics company, Safe Ports, for several months in 2023, according to the Guardian. Safe Ports is a global supply chain management company that was looking to expand its offices into Dalian; Safe Ports CEO Lucy Duncan said that Chen's work there was "Purely administrative" and had "No idea as to why she has been detained." A policeman checks a passport at the Mohan port border between China and Laos and the end point of the Chinese section of the Kumming-Bangkok Highway on July 7, 2005 in Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. China has arrested or blocked several individuals for doing business with U.S. companies inside of China. In many instances, details are few regarding why individuals doing work with U.S. companies are arrested or prevented from leaving China.