The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commerce Department are investigating Boeing Co. ’s relationship with a satellite startup backed by a Chinese government-owned firm, following an article by The Wall Street Journal on the matter last month.

In a letter to the Los Angeles-based startup Global IP, the SEC requested that the company retain all documents about its work with Boeing and a number of other individuals and entities, including state-owned Chinese lender China Orient Asset Management Co.

The letter said the SEC believes the Los Angeles company possesses “documents and data that are relevant to a matter under investigation,” and asked that it keep materials about Boeing’s deal with the Chinese-backed entity.

The SEC letter was disclosed in a court filing on Jan. 4 by Umar Javed, one of Global IP’s founders.

The court filing was part of litigation against defendants including a China Orient unit that corporate records show provided financing for a satellite that Global IP was buying from Boeing. Under U.S. export laws, American companies are effectively barred from selling satellites to China.