China is torn between wanting control of its citizens' data and growing its economy, says US ambassador

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2023. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

• China is torn between contradictory impulses, the US ambassador said. 
• Nicholas Burns told CBS that China is cracking down on US companies but also seeks investment. 
• China is currently in the midst of an economic downturn after decades of growth. 

The US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, said that China is torn between seeking foreign investment and its desire to control data about its businesses and citizens.

Speaking to Lesley Stahl on Sunday’s edition of 60 Minutes, Burns said that China had launched a crackdown on US companies in China, raiding their offices and, in one case, arresting Chinese employees.

“It accused Western consulting firms of espionage and stealing national security and military secrets,” Burns said of China.

US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns attends a climate roundtable at the US embassy on July 8, 2023 in Beijing, China. Pool via Getty Images

He added that China had passed an amendment to national security laws, meaning that employees of American firms conducting due diligence checks for potential investors could be accused of spying.

“You know, I think they want to control data about the Chinese people, about Chinese companies. And so, that I think is at the heart of the problem with those American companies operating in that sphere,” said Burns.

Last year, Chinese authorities raided several consulting firms, including US companies Mintz and Bain & Co. Chinese authorities arrested five Mintz employees in a raid on the company’s Beijing offices in March 2023.

The raids came amid worsening relations between the US and China, with the US shooting down what it claimed was a Chinese spy balloon off the US coast in February 2023.

But with China’s economy slowing down and foreign investment drying up, President, Xi Jinping has sought to improve relations with the US, meeting with President Joe Biden at the APEC summit in San Francisco last December, and addressing US business leaders.

In recent decades, China has experienced explosive economic growth. But Xi has also intensified China’s repression of domestic dissent, launching a wide-ranging domestic surveillance program.

Burns said that China was pursuing contradictory policies that were scaring away investors.

“I think there’s been a contradiction in the messaging from the government here in China to the rest of the world. On the one hand, they say, ‘We’re open for business. We want American, Chi– Japanese businesses here.’ But on the other hand, they’ve raided six or seven American businesses since last March,” said Burns.