US diplomat fired over romance with Chinese woman

US President Donald Trump’s administration said on Wednesday that it had fired a State Department employee who did not acknowledge a romantic relationship with a Chinese national.

“The State Department has officially terminated the employment of a Foreign Service officer who admitted concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

The State Department said the officer, a man whom it did not identify, said on camera that the Chinese woman “could have been a spy” but did not say if there was any proof of espionage.

The dismissed employee said his partner’s father was “straight-up communist party”, according to the State Department.

The Chinese Communist Party permeates life in the billion-plus country in areas from business to education, with many ordinary Chinese maintaining ties out of practicality as much as ideology.