Top US consultancies are struggling to attract business in China as Beijing’s national security raids scare away local clients and global investors pull back from dealmaking in the country.Management consultancy Bain is telling new China hires to wait until as late as 2025 to start their jobs, while roughly half of McKinsey staff do not have paid client projects to work on. Boston Consulting Group’s China team has been holding strategy sessions on how to revive its flagging business, according to half a dozen people close to the firms.

In May, China’s state security services said they were investigating the industry for jeopardising national security after they carried out raids on Bain’s Shanghai office and Capvision, which specialises in connecting management consultants and investors with a network of 450,000 experts.

Without sufficient work for their existing teams, all three top-tier US management consulting firms are delaying start dates for new recruits, leaving the incoming consultants instead to sharpen their skills, gain an extra degree or travel while they wait, the people said.