China confirmed on Monday that an executive of US bank Wells Fargo has been barred from leaving the country due to her links to a criminal case, saying the nation remains committed to protecting the legitimate interests of foreign expats in China.

Mao Chenyue, the Wells Fargo banker, is involved in a criminal case that China is handling, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference.

"According to China's law, as the case is under investigation, Mao is not allowed to leave the country for now, and has an obligation to cooperate with the investigation," Guo said.

Everyone in China, Chinese or foreigners, must follow China's law, he said, adding that China will protect Mao's lawful rights and interests during the investigation.

The case involving Mao is "an individual judicial case", Guo said.

"China will, as always, welcome people from all countries to come to China for tourism and business, and will protect their rights and interests according to law," he said.

In recent months, China has continued to improve its policies to attract more international travelers.

In June, it granted visa-free entry to citizens of nine countries — Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.

It also extended a visa-free transit policy to citizens of Indonesia in June, and signed mutual visa exemption agreements with Malaysia and Azerbaijan in April.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn