A Wells Fargo banker who had been barred from leaving China for several months has finally been released back to the US, a company spokesperson confirmed to The Post.
Chenyue Mao – an Atlanta-based managing director at Wells Fargo who was traveling in China for work – has already left China, several news outlets reported.
Her exit ban was lifted following talks this week between US and Chinese officials, the Washington Post first reported.
The two nations reached a deal to transfer TikTok to US ownership and avoid a ban on the app.
It is not clear whether Mao’s exit was discussed during negotiations this week in Madrid, Spain, or whether they were part of separate talks.
Mao, who was born in Shanghai but is a US citizen, had been blocked from leaving China due to her alleged involvement in a criminal case and ongoing investigation, China’s Foreign Ministry said in July.
China’s Foreign Ministry and the White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment. Wells Fargo declined to provide further information.
The longtime Wells Fargo employee – who started with the company in 2012 – specializes in international factoring, a process that allows companies to sell unpaid invoices to a third party, known in this case as the factor, for immediate cash.
She worked with Chinese firms and industry groups on international factoring matters, and sometimes traveled to China on business, the Wall Street Journal earlier reported.
Soon before her trip to China, Mao had attended an industry conference in Brazil where she was named chairwoman of FCI, formerly called Factors Chain International.
Exit bans have become increasingly common in China, where people are often blocked from leaving for alleged civil disputes – and typically are unaware they’re facing such a ban until they try to leave.
These travel bans have been used as intimidation tactics, or even to create leverage over another company or foreign government.
But Wells Fargo has a much smaller presence in China than other Wall Street giants. Its Shanghai and Beijing branches employ about 63 staff members as of 2024, according to business records viewed by Reuters.
Mao’s monthslong ban prompted some companies to cancel business trips to China or create new policies that discourage employees from entering the country alone.
Several other foreign professionals have been detained in China by exit bans.
In March, Chinese authorities released employees of Mintz Group, a New York-based corporate due diligence firm, who were blocked from leaving China two years ago.
Charles Wang Zhonghe, a senior banker at Japanese-based financial services firm Nomura, was banned from leaving mainland China in 2023 after a business trip. He has since returned to Hong Kong.
