Chinese authorities detained a local employee of a Japanese trading firm this year, according to The Nikkei newspaper, the latest report of a spate of raids on foreign firms and custody of their staff in China.
The report, quoting sources and released late Sunday, did not identify the company or the staff member, only stating the person was a Chinese national who supervised rare metals at the company.
The cause for the detention was unknown, the report said.
Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The arrest took place back in March about the same time as a raid on US consultancy Mintz’s Beijing office in which several of that firm’s local staff were detained.
That incident, as well as a raid on US management consultancy Bain & Co, the arrest of an executive from Japan’s Astellas Pharma, and travel restrictions set on a senior Nomura banker, have sent chills through China’s foreign business community.
