China has imposed a ban on Tesla cars in the coastal district of Beidaihe, the site of a secretive leadership meet, for two months, the second such ban to be imposed on the electric car manufacturer this month.

According to Reuters, which cited a local police official, the ban will become effective from July 1. While no official reason for the ban has been given thus far, the unnamed official told the news agency that an official announcement would be made soon.

The news of the ban comes weeks after China imposed a similar prohibition on Tesla cars in Chengdu in early June, when President Xi Jinping was on a visit to the city.

Also read | BRICS summit: Xi, Putin, Modi, Bolsonaro to sit across screens, talk Ukraine

The prohibition on Tesla cars in Chengdu, however, was not officially announced and only came to light from videos posted on social media.

Notably, however, China’s paranoia about Tesla cars isn’t new: last year, the Chinese military barred the company’s vehicles from entering military complexes, citing security concerns about cameras installed in the car.

At the time Tesla founder Elon Musk had assured that the company’s cars do not spy on anyone, in China or elsewhere, and had also agreed to store all data generated by Tesla cars in China on Chinese soil.

Also read | China aggressively plans to return samples from the Red Planet to Earth

Musk’s assurances, however, appear to have fallen on deaf ears as the latest ban on Tesla cars in Beidaihe seems to be driven by the same fear of surveillance.

For those unaware, the beach resort of Beidaihe hosts an annual conclave of senior Chinese leaders, wherein personnel moves and key policy ideas are discussed behind closed doors.

Given the secrecy surrounding the exclusive conclave, dates for which are never formally announced, China’s ban on Tesla cars in the district is likely to be an attempt to rule out any foreign surveillance.