US President Donald Trump’s administration said Wednesday it fired a State Department employee who did not acknowledge a romantic relationship with a Chinese national. “The State Department has officially terminated the employment of a Foreign Service officer who admitted concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. The State Department said the officer, a man whom it did not identify, said on camera that the Chinese woman “could have been a spy” but did not say if there was any proof of espionage. The dismissed employee said his partner’s father was “straight-up communist party,” according to the State Department. The Chinese Communist Party permeates life in the billion-plus country in areas from business to education, with many ordinary Chinese maintaining ties out of practicality as much as ideology. The State Department said it was the first known dismissal taken under an executive order signed by Trump shortly after returning to office in which he ordered that all employees “faithfully implement the president’s policy.” “We will maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any employee who is caught undermining our country’s national security,” Pigott said. The United States earlier this year said it would restrict employees in China from entering romantic relationships with locals, a rare step reminiscent of the Cold War.

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced the dismissal of a US State Department employee who failed to disclose a romantic relationship with a Chinese national allegedly connected to the Chinese Communist Party.

“The State Department has officially terminated the employment of a Foreign Service officer who admitted concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

The officer, whose identity was not revealed, acknowledged on camera that his partner “could have been a spy,” though officials did not specify whether there was any evidence of espionage. According to the department, the dismissed employee also said the woman’s father was “straight-up Communist Party.”

The case marks the first known termination under a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, which directs federal agencies to “faithfully implement the president’s policy” on national security and loyalty.

“We will maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any employee caught undermining our country’s national security,” Pigott said.

The Chinese Communist Party wields broad influence across the country’s institutions — from business and education to local governance — with many citizens maintaining party ties for practical reasons as much as political alignment.

Earlier this year, the United States introduced restrictions barring its diplomatic staff in China from entering romantic relationships with local citizens, a move observers compared to Cold War-era security protocols.