Three employees of the Japanese company Marubeni have been detained on suspicion of smuggling in China in an apparent investigation into tax payments on imported soybeans.

日本企业丸红(Marubeni)的3名员工因涉嫌在华走私被拘留，调查原因似乎是这家公司的进口大豆有逃税嫌疑。

The detention of the three Chinese nationals in Shandong Province came to light on the same day that Mitsui OSK, the Japanese shipping group, agreed to pay Y4bn to secure the release of a container ship impounded by a Chinese court in a wartime compensation dispute.

就在这3名中国籍员工在山东被拘留的消息传出的同一天，日本航运集团商船三井(Mitsui OSK)同意支付40亿日元，释放被中国一家法院以战时赔偿纠纷为由扣押的一艘集装箱船。

The container ship case had raised concerns that tensions between China and Japan are spilling into the commercial realm.

集装箱船被扣一事引发各方担忧：中日两国紧张关系正蔓延至商业领域。

This previously occurred in 2012 when Chinese travel agents refused to book tickets to Japan during a particularly heated episode in a longstanding dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. The customs bureau in Qingdao, the main port in Shandong, confirmed the three Marubeni staff were detained on suspicion of smuggling.

这类事件在2012年曾经发生，在东中国海无人岛屿长期争端的一段特别紧张的时期，中国旅行社拒绝订购到日本的票。青岛海关（山东省主要港口）证实3名丸红员工因涉嫌走私被拘留。

Marubeni confirmed their employees had been detained but said China had not explained why they were under investigation. The three work for Columbia Grain, a US-based trading company which is controlled by Marubeni.

丸红也证实3名员工被拘留，但表示中国没有解释他们为什么受到调查。此3人系哥伦比亚谷物贸易有限公司(Columbia Grain)员工，这家总部位于美国的贸易公司由丸红控股。

The detentions come after a number of Chinese processors in Shandong refused to accept contracted soyabean shipments after they were unable to open letters of credit amid tightening scrutiny over loans for commodities imports.

这3人被拘留之际，山东的几家中国加工企业拒绝接收按合同到货的大豆，因为大宗商品进口贷款受到更严密的审核，他们无法获得信用证。

One of the companies, Chenxi Group, said in March it would reduce previously contracted shipments between March and July. This week Chenxi posted on its website a letter from Columbia Grain’s office in the Chinese port city of Dalian, which said that “co-operation is good and business is normal”. The letter added: “There have been no cancellations in letters of credit.”

其中一间公司晨曦集团(Chenxi Group)曾在3月表示，该公司在3月至7月间会减少接收此前签约的货物。本周晨曦集团在其网站上发布了哥伦比亚谷物贸易有限公司大连代表处发来的一封信件，信上表示“目前合作良好，业务正常。目前不存在任何信用证违约情况。”

Columbia Grain’s Dalian office declined to comment yesterday. A Chenxi executive denied reports of soyabean shipment cancellations and said he was not aware of any detentions.

哥伦比亚谷物贸易有限公司大连代表处昨日拒绝发表评论。晨曦集团一名高管否认到港大豆违约的报道，并表示他不知道任何拘留事件。

There was no immediate evidence that the detentions were politically motivated. Citizens from other nations have in the past been detained in China in connection with disputes over shipment defaults and customs fees. Asked about reports that China was investigating whether Columbia Grain had evaded taxes on soyabean imports, Marubeni said paying such taxes was the responsibility of the ultimate buyers.

现在并无直接证据表明此次拘留存在政治动机。以往也有其他国家的公民因货物违约纠纷和海关收费被中国拘留。当被问及关于中国正调查哥伦比亚谷物贸易有限公司是否在大豆进口上偷税的报道时，丸红表示支付这类税款是最终买家的责任。