Beijing blocked a U.S. federal employee from leaving China after they traveled to the country in a personal capacity, the State Department confirmed Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The employee, who works for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), was \u201cmade subject to an exit ban in China,\u201d a State Department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,\u201d the spokesperson added, noting that the State Department \u201chas no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The USPTO, housed in the Commerce Department, did not respond to an immediate request for comment.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for China\u2019s foreign ministry declined to comment on the specifics of the case when asked about reports of the \u201cexit ban\u201d during a press conference<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no details to share. China upholds the rule of law and handles entry and exit affairs in accordance with the law,\u201d spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.<\/p>\n The Washington Post earlier reported<\/a> that the U.S. government employee traveled to China several months ago to visit family and \u201cnow has been caught up in China\u2019s\u00a0controversial practice<\/a> of blocking Chinese and foreign nationals from leaving China.\u201d<\/p>\n The individual was prevented from leaving China after failing to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, the Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beijing blocked a U.S. federal employee from leaving China after they traveled to the country in a personal capacity, the State Department confirmed Tuesday. The employee, who works for the<\/p>\n