WASHINGTON — The US State Department said Wednesday it has dismissed an American diplomat who admitted to having a romantic relationship with a Chinese woman alleged to have ties to the Chinese Communist Party, marking the first firing under a new ban on such relationships.

The prohibition was introduced in late 2024, during the final months of the Biden administration, and bars all U.S. government personnel in China — including contractors and family members with security clearances — from engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the diplomat was removed from the Foreign Service after President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reviewed the case and determined that he had concealed the relationship.

“Under Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we will maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any employee who is caught undermining our country’s national security,” Pigott said in a statement.

The department did not identify the diplomat, though he and his girlfriend appeared in a covertly filmed video circulated online by conservative activist James O’Keefe.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun declined to comment on the case, calling it a domestic U.S. issue, but added: “We oppose drawing lines based on ideological difference and maliciously smearing China.”

The firing underscores Washington’s growing concern over espionage risks and personal vulnerabilities among American personnel stationed in China amid heightened tensions between the two powers. — Agencies