China’s departure prohibitions increase as Xi tightens political control. After three years of COVID-19 limitations, China progressively prohibits anyone from departing, including international executives.

A new Safeguard Defenders report found that exit bans have caught scores of Chinese and foreigners, and a Reuters analysis found an apparent rise in court cases involving such bans in recent years. Foreign business lobbies are concerned about the trend.

“Since Xi Jinping took power in 2012, China has expanded the legal landscape for exit bans and increasingly used them, sometimes outside legal justification,” according Safeguard Defenders.

“Between 2018 and July of this year, no less than five new or amended (Chinese) laws provide for the use of exit bans, for a total today of 15 laws,” said campaign director Laura Harth.

The organization thinks “tens of thousands” of Chinese are prevented from leaving. According to a 2022 academic study by Chris Carr and Jack Wroldsen, 128 foreigners were exit-banned between 1995 and 2019, including 29 Americans and 44 Canadians.

China-U.S. trade and security concerns have focused on departure prohibitions. China’s statement that it is opening up to foreign investment and travel is in contrast.

Between 2016 and 2022, Reuters found eight-fold more departure prohibition cases in China’s Supreme Court database.

Last week, China strengthened its counter-espionage law, allowing exit bans for anyone under investigation, Chinese or foreign.

Civil exit ban cases dominate the database. Reuters found none involving foreigners, politically sensitive subversion, or national security.

The U.S. and E.U. bar criminal suspects from traveling, not civil claimants.

China’s Ministry of Public Security did not respond to Reuters’ leave ban inquiries, including how many foreigners are affected.

Three sources stated a Singaporean Mintz Group executive could not leave China this year.

The firm, executive, and China’s Public Security Bureau rejected the comment.

Mintz said Late March, authorities raided the firm’s China unit and arrested five local employees. The foreign ministry suspected Mintz of illegal business operations. Bain & Co. reported police questioning Shanghai personnel last week.

“Because of rising tensions between the U.S. and China, the salience of this (exit ban) risk has risen,” said top China exit ban lawyer Lester Ross.

Ross, head of the American Chamber of Commerce’s China policy committee, said, “I’ve seen a rise in companies and entities being concerned about this and asking for our advice on how to prepare and reduce risks” of departure bans.

Foreign firms are concerned about the enhanced surveillance and the ambiguity of the Counter-espionage Act, which authorizes departure restrictions for “harm to the national security or significant damage to national interests.”

“The uncertainty is huge,” said E.U. Chamber of Commerce in China director Jorg Wuttke. Are you careful? Clarity must come.”

The E.U. chamber told Reuters, “At a time when China is proactively trying to restore business confidence to attract foreign investment, the exit bans send a very mixed signal.”

The Safeguard Defenders research found that Chinese people in financial disputes, rights defenders, activists, attorneys, and ethnic minorities like Uyghurs in Xinjiang cannot leave China.

Thirty-four thousand debtors were prohibited from leaving China between 2016 and 2018, up 55% from three years earlier, according to Chinese judicial research.

Activists say President Xi’s security has raised departure limitations.

“They can find any reason to stop you from leaving the country,” said Chinese rights advocate Xiang Li, who fled China in 2017 and sought asylum in the U.S. after being denied leave for two years.

“China doesn’t have the rule of law,” she told Reuters by phone from California. CCP uses the law. It’s efficient.”