Wells Fargo Banker Allowed To Leave China - But Why Was She Stuck There?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) China has released Chenyue Mao, a Wells Fargo banker who had been barred from leaving the country for several months. This allows her to return to the United States ahead of a potential in-person meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mao was legally bound to be stuck in China this past summer after Chinese authorities found her involvement in a criminal case that was under investigation, without giving any further details about the specifics of the case. Following her exit ban, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo decided to restrict other employees from visiting China, the news report by Bloomberg said.

Who is Chenyue Mao?

Mao is positioned as a Managing Director at Wells Fargo and has been with the company for over a decade. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, she served in companies such as BB&T, ACE Group and AIG in finance-related positions.

In June this year, she was elected chair of FCI, a global body for factoring and financing domestic and international trade. According to FCI, Mao leads Wells Fargo's international factoring business and advises multinational clients on cross-border working-capital strategies.

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Mao was born in Shanghai but is a US citizen who worked with Chinese firms and industry groups, and sometimes traveled to China for business, the Wall Street Journal earlier reported.

Exit bans in China

China's use of exit bans has become a point of contention between Beijing and Washington. Mao's case was not an isolated one, as several similar incidents have been reported, including an American individual who works for the US Department of Commerce.

When an exit ban is imposed, the affected person is blocked from leaving the country for alleged civil disputes. The typically are unaware they're facing such a ban until they try to leave.

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The US State Department has repeatedly warned American citizens to reconsider travel to China based on what it called the“arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans," Bloomberg reported.

Last weekend, China and US began high-level talks in Madrid , Spain on topics such as trade and national security. So far both parties have reached a framework to keep ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok app running in the US, and President Trump has said he would speak with Xi on Friday, when they are scheduled to attend a summit in South Korea, the news report highlighted.

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