Chinese Diplomats in L.A. Exceed Limit of 31, U.S. Officials Say

The number of Chinese diplomats in Los Angeles exceeds the limit agreed upon when China opened its consulate in the city last year, according to knowledgeable U.S. officials.

China’s new consulate in Los Angeles was supposed to have a staff of 31. But the FBI recently notified the State Department that 38 or 39 Chinese diplomats were working there, and that some Chinese officials in Los Angeles were operating out of their residences rather than the consulate, the sources said.

State Department officials declined to discuss the situation and said they have not made any protest or complaint about it to the Chinese government. “There is no problem here,” Richard L. Williams, director of the department’s Office of Chinese and Mongolian affairs, said Wednesday.

Zhang Pengxiang, a political counselor for the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, said Wednesday that the numerical restrictions imposed by the United States are “totally unreasonable.” Furthermore, he said, China has not violated the agreed-upon limit.

Zhang suggested that the discrepancy may be explained by the fact that non-working spouses of Chinese diplomats have been taking English lessons at the Los Angeles consulate. “Our wives are not on the payroll. They have nothing to do with the work here. If our wives are not allowed to come into our office building, that is quite absurd,” he said.

The FBI’s close monitoring of Chinese diplomats in Los Angeles apparently reflects its longstanding concerns about possible Chinese espionage activity in California.

When China first asked for permission to open a consulate in Los Angeles in 1985, the FBI resisted on grounds that it would provide greater opportunities for intelligence gathering. Despite the FBI’s objections, the State Department approved the Chinese request.

Last fall, Harry J. Godfrey III, head of FBI counterintelligence in Los Angeles, told The Times that Chinese espionage agents have surpassed the Soviets as the most active foreign spies in California.

There is no indication, however, that any of the Chinese diplomats in Los Angeles have been found to be engaged in espionage.

According to Zhang, the understanding between the U.S. and Chinese officials was that the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles would have 18 diplomats and 13 other staff people, such as cooks and drivers.

“This kind of restriction placed upon us is totally unreasonable,” he said. “We are not satisfied with this kind of arrangement. The State Department just gave us a number which equalled the number (for the Chinese consulate) in Chicago.” He said the Chinese government hoped to increase the number of personnel in Los Angeles through talks with the U.S. government.

Zhang denied that too many Chinese officials are working at the consulate, saying 26 people--17 diplomats and nine other staff aides--currently work there. “We still have five vacancies to be filled,” he said.

After monitoring the consulate, the FBI turned its findings over to the State Department. Williams said Wednesday that “no approach has been made to China” concerning the number of diplomats working in Los Angeles. He said the United States has “a general understanding” with the Chinese government about the size of its consulate in Los Angeles, but declined to discuss this understanding.

Over the last few months, the United States and China have become embroiled in a dispute over the travel restrictions that the two countries have imposed on each other’s diplomats.

For years, China has prohibited American diplomats at the Chinese consulate in Shenyang from driving outside the city limits. Shenyang is located in northeastern China, not far from China’s border with North Korea. In the past, U.S. officials have complained about the transshipment of arms or missiles from China through North Korea to the Middle East.

A federal law requires the United States to reciprocate in kind against foreign diplomats working here when restrictions are imposed on American diplomats overseas.

Citing this law, State Department officials this fall told diplomats at China’s consulate in Chicago that they could no longer drive outside the Chicago area. China then retaliated by curbing the travel of U.S. diplomats working in Shanghai.

U.S. and Chinese officials met in Beijing last month in an effort to settle the travel dispute, but failed to do so. According to one U.S. official, these negotiations were so acrimonious that at a farewell dinner, instead of the customary toasts to Sino-American friendship and cooperation, U.S. officials told the Chinese they were returning home with a bitter taste in their mouths.

State Department officials maintained this week that there is no connection between this dispute over travel restrictions and the FBI’s recent report on the consulate in Los Angeles.

Speaking for the Chinese, Zhang said he didn’t know whether the Los Angeles consulate is becoming drawn into this broader diplomatic game of tit-for-tat. But, he said, “The last round of discussions (on travel restrictions) was not very successful.”

China had originally planned to have a single consulate in San Francisco to cover all of California. But in 1985, citing the importance of Southern California, the Chinese government shelved plans for a consulate in Honolulu and asked for permission to open an office in Los Angeles instead.