China's state-owned sector told to cut ties with U.S. consulting firms

(Reuters) - China has told its state-owned enterprises to sever links with American consulting firms just days after the United States charged five Chinese military officers with hacking U.S. companies, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

China's action, which targets companies like McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), stems from fears the firms are providing trade secrets to the U.S. government, the FT reported, citing unnamed sources close to senior Chinese leaders.

"We haven't received any notification of this kind," said Margaret Kashmir, a spokeswoman for Strategy& - formerly Booz & Company - in an email, adding that serving clients in China and globally continues to be the company's main priority.

"We are unaware of any government mandates," added Bain & Company spokeswoman Cheryl Krauss.

A McKinsey spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment. A spokeswoman for BCG was not immediately able to comment.

The companies have large operations in China, the FT reported. McKinsey, BCG and Strategy& all have Chinese state enterprises as clients, the newspaper said.

Credit to Reuters