The US has reportedly increased checks on Chinese-owned vessels after tightening immigration rules for members of the Communist Party.
According to the state-run China Daily, 16 vessels owned by China Cosco Shipping and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries were raided by US authorities over a 25-day period in October.
As of 11 November, the two state conglomerates had 21 ships boarded by US law enforcement officers and some other unidentified plain-clothes personnel, the report said.
Unnamed sources told China Daily that authorities scrutinised and photographed the ships upon their berthing in the US and “extensively” questioned crew members.
Chinese seafarers were reportedly asked about their Communist Party membership, their links with the Chinese government, the coronavirus pandemic in China, and their views on the candidates in the US presidential election.
The raids came after the US government banned Communist Party members from immigrating to the US amid heightened bilateral tensions between Washington and Beijing.
In early October, US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance stating that all Communist Party members and affiliates would be inadmissible to the US for safety and security reasons.
However, the government agency suggested that the guidance only applies to those who apply for permanent residency and citizenship.
The US has bespoke visas for foreign crew members of international shipping companies who seek short stays.
China Daily, widely seen as a propaganda organ that reflects the Chinese government’s official view, reported that Beijing had lodged formal complaints to the US over the tightening scrutiny and may take reciprocal countermeasures.
The Chinese side believes those checks raised suspicions of discriminatory enforcement of US laws and could provoke ideological confrontation, disrupt regular exchanges of visits between China and the US, and “deliberately create trouble and obstacles”, China Daily reported.
TradeWinds has approached the US State Department, Cosco and Zhenhua for comment.
The bilateral relationship between China and the US, the world’s two largest economies, have remained precarious due to trade disputes, the Covid-19 outbreak and many other issues.
In mid-November, the White House banned Americans from investing in more than 30 Chinese companies due to their military ties, including China State Shipbuilding Corp and Sinochem.
