BEIJING – China on Tuesday issued a pair of travel alerts to its citizensgoing to the United States, warning them about police harassment and crimeas tensions soar between the global powers.
The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a protracted tradewar, and any major drop in Chinese tourism to the United States could costbillions to the US economy.
While it did not threaten to curb tours to the United States, China hasused tourism as a weapon during previous diplomatic rows with South Koreaand Japan.
Tuesday’s warnings were also issued as China angrily hit back at UScriticism of its human rights record on the 30th anniversary of the brutalcrackdown on Tiananmen protests, adding to tensions.
The foreign ministry said US law enforcement agencies have “repeatedly”used methods such as immigration and on-site interviews to “harass” Chinesecitizens in the US.
It urged Chinese nationals and Chinese-funded institutions in the US to becautious and “increase awareness and strengthen preventive measures.”
“This is a response to the circumstances, China would not have done this ifit was unnecessary,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at aregular press briefing.
“At the same time, I want to emphasise China holds an open attitudetowards normal people-to-people exchanges and contacts between our twocountries, but such exchanges and contact must be based on mutual respect,”he said.
– US warns its citizens –
A separate travel warning by the culture and tourism ministry warned:”Recently, shootings, robberies and thefts have occurred frequently in theUnited States.”
The statement urged Chinese tourists to “fully assess the risk” and”improve their awareness of safety and security”.
Three million Chinese visited the United States last year, down from 3.2million in 2017, according to the US National Travel and Tourism Office.They represent the fifth biggest group of foreign visitors, spending $36.4billion last year.
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This is the second US travel advisory issued by China over the past 12months.
The Chinese embassy in Washington last July warned Chinese tourists to beaware of issues including the threats of public shootings and robberies,searches and seizures by customs agents, telecommunications fraud andnatural disasters.
The warnings come a day after the education ministry said students andacademics were facing US visa problems and urged them to assess the “risk”of travelling to the United States.
For its part, the United States warned its own citizens earlier this yearthat they could face arbitrary action by authorities when they visit China,including sudden prohibitions on exiting the country and harassment ofcitizens of Chinese heritage.
China’s own visa process is onerous, especially for journalists, with somereporting delays and difficulties in getting or renewing visas.
– Trade war –
Ties between China and the United States have deteriorated after tradenegotiations stalled last month without a deal to lift bruising tariffs ongoods worth $360 billion in two-way trade.
Instead, the two sides hiked punitive tariffs, the United Statesblacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei and Beijing said it would createits own list of “unreliable” companies and individuals.
US businesses in China have complained about delays in customs clearanceand other non-tariff retaliation after the trade war reignited.
Chinese state media have also dangled the threat of cutting exports ofrare earths to the United States — a key resource used in the productionof everything from smartphones to military hardware. -APP/AFP
