An American businessman who says his employees haven’t let him leave the factory he owns on the outskirts of Beijing since June 21 is describing the current situation as “very calm” with negotiations in progress.

Chinese authorities, who deem the incident a civil matter, aren’t intervening, and U.S. officials are limited by what they can do in the Asian nation, Charles Starnes said in a phone interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday.

Starnes works for Coral Gables, Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, a manufacturer of alcohol prep pads and lancing devices. He said workers are detaining him over a wage dispute that began when the company decided to move part of production to Mumbai, where labor costs are lower, and pay severance to some employees.

Workers who were to remain at the factory learned about the decision and decided to quit, demanding severance pay, an “unreasonable” request given that he has no plans to close the Chinese operation, Starnes said.

Starnes said the situation has calmed down since last week, when he was kept awake overnight, and he’s not feeling endangered by workers. The situation isn’t related to anti- Americanism, he said. Starnes said that his experiences in China have been good and that he has felt welcomed and has no plans to leave.