Faced with a fraught geopolitical environment, global consultancies are turning to riskier ways to do business in China that some industry and legal experts say test the boundaries of Western sanctions and Beijing’s drive to curb foreign involvement in sensitive sectors.
Since 2023, China arms of KPMG and Bain & Co have pitched for — and the former carried out — work for a sanctioned Russian bank, while EY staff used a Chinese intermediary to pitch for a project for a state-owned client, according to company documents and four people familiar with their decision-making.
Western sanctions, including those imposed after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, have hit a growing list of companies from Russia and other nations in recent years, increasing compliance obligations for firms doing business globally. Beijing, meanwhile, has restricted the work foreign consultants can do for state-owned enterprises and, in early 2025, introduced sweeping data-security regulations that further limit cross-border transfers of sensitive information.
