The US State Department advises Americans to think twice before travelling to China

Due to the possibility of being wrongfully detained, Americans should think twice before visiting China, the US State Department cautioned in an updated travel recommendation. China was rated as a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” location by the department in a prior alert owing to the possibility of “arbitrary enforcement of local laws”.

An alert issued in March advised US passengers to “exercise increased caution” due to the possibility of being wrongfully detained. The Chinese government, according to a representative for the State Department, “continues to engage in this practise” of wrongful detention, and as a result, “the Travel Advisory has been updated to advise US citizens to reconsider travel to Mainland China due to the risk of wrongful detention.”

The Department of State decided that there is a danger of unjustified arrest of US citizens by the PRC government in the PRC, according to warnings issued in late June and early march.

After visiting Beijing last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued the recommendation. He had previously stated that both the US and China had made “progress” in resuming their bilateral relationship as they had come to an understanding regarding the need to “stabilise” it. He also brought up the cases of Kai Li, Mark Swidan, and David Lin, three Americans who were allegedly wrongfully detained in China.

This week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit Beijing.