Beijing’s anti-espionage campaign against foreign consulting companies ramped up this week after the offices of Capvision were raided. There have been similar raids in recent months on the offices of Mintz Group and Bain & Company, motivated by Chinese concern that foreign firms can access domestic Chinese data as the country seeks to encourage foreign direct investment post-Covid. New changes to China’s anti-espionage laws expanded the list of valid reasons to arrest foreigners and blocked foreign access to several key databases. The words “shooting” and “foot” come to mind. Xi Jinping’s two-year crackdown on Chinese tech companies wiped an estimated $1 trillion off their market value.
