Airwallex, an Australian-founded payments company that aims to rival Stripe, is moving some of its staff out of China as it looks to expand into the US, the Financial Times has reported.

According to two people familiar with the plan, the Singapore and San Fransico-headquartered company has been steadily relocating employees without China-facing roles out of its Shanghai and Hong Kong offices. One person estimated more than 100 staff could be moved.

Previously, many staff working on international operations, including product managers and engineers, were based in mainland China or Hong Kong, the paper reported.

A spokesperson for Airwallex told the FT that the moves were driven by a need for data security. Relocations began last year in response to Washington restricting the bulk transfer of sensitive personal data to “countries of concern”, particularly China.

“When US Executive Order 14117 established new requirements around cross-border data flows in 2024, employee realignment became part of our growth plan, in line with broader industry practice,” they said.

The spokesperson added that the company continues to maintain a “significant presence in Shanghai and Hong Kong”, adding that Airwallex actively recruits from the country’s “world-class engineering and technical talent”.

This is the latest example of rising US-China tensions forcing companies, especially those in the tech sector, to pick sides in the conflict.

Earlier in the year, Chinese officials prevented the heads of a Chinese-founded AI company from leaving the country after it was set to be acquired by Microsoft for $2 billion. The government ordered the deal be unwound in late April, feeling it was a “conspiratorial” attempt to hollow out the country’s technology base.

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