Companies should think twice before sending staff to China, the head of the International Crisis Group said on Sunday following the arrest and detention of its employee Michael Kovrig.
Speaking to the FT at the Doha business forum in Qatar, Robert Malley, chief executive of the ICG, a non-governmental organisation that aims to defuse and resolve conflicts, warned that the detention of Mr Kovrig last week was likely to have “a chilling effect” on foreigners working in China.
“I would think from a Chinese perspective, the last message they would want to send right now is that [foreigners] are not welcome for business, for engagement,” Mr Malley said.