SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 19 February 2025, Wednesday |

China shuts American Chamber of Commerce in Chengdu, organisation says

Chinese authorities have commanded an American Chamber of Commerce in the southwestern city of Chengdu to turn off operations, officials with the organization said on Tuesday.

The chamber informed members on Monday that, in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, it had to halt operations and “no longer carry out any activities in the name of the American Chamber of Commerce in Southwest China.”

The statement, seen by Reuters, did not give a specific reason why the chamber, which reinforces trade and investment between the United States and the region, had been asked to stop operations.

Benjamin Wang, the group’s chairman, told Reuters by WeChat message that it was in discussions with local authorities about its registration and future direction.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) appeared to be enforcing a rule that countries maintain only one official chamber of commerce in the country, Wang said.

The Chengdu chamber is not affiliated with the American Chamber of Commerce in China, a business advocacy group based in Beijing with offices in several other cities.

The closure of the chamber comes just over one year after China closed the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, in retaliation for China’s ouster from its consulate in Houston a week earlier.

    Source:
  • Reuters