The US State Department has updated its travel advisory for China. That’s getting plenty of coverage but let’s keep things in perspective.
The U.S. State Department on Thursday updated its travel warning about China, urging Americans to “exercise increased caution” in the country “due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws as well as special restrictions on dual U.S.-Chinese nationals.”
The State Department’s “Level 2” warning, which was first issued last year, noted that Chinese authorities have “exit bans” to prevent U.S. citizens from leaving China, sometimes “for years.”
There are (11) countries where US citizens are advised flat-out not to go (Level 4): Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Yemen, North Korea, Syria, and Somalia.
There are (17) countries where US citizens are suggested to ‘reconsider’ travel (Level 3): Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Haiti, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Honduras, Nicaragua, Lebanon, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Pakistan, Chad, El Salvador, Turkey, and Venezuela. I had plans to visit Lebanon later in the month that I’ve changed but look forward to next going to Beirut.
China isn’t in either of those categories. Including China there are a total of (58) countries where the U.S. State Department recommends ‘increased caution’ (Level 2).
- Frankly I’m surprised that they don’t recommend ‘increased caution’ everywhere but they also have level 1 which is ‘normal caution’
- Level 2 includes The Bahamas, Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and Italy.
The US is advising the same level of caution for Beijing as Paris. I guess tourist scams like Chinese tea ceremonies are about on par as someone ‘finding a ring you must have dropped’ by the Eiffel Tower.
Arbitrary enforcement of local laws and travel bans, by the way, may sound familiar here in the States too. And in any case it sure seems like we started it when it comes to detaining each other’s citizens, pushing Canada to hold Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou while transiting enroute from Mexico to Hong Kong.
I visited Shanghai earlier in the year. Other than assuming my devices were compromised and needing to use a VPN for laptop internet access to reach banned sites like Gmail (cell phone roaming worked fine), it was like traveling most anywhere else that I go.
Denmark? Belgium? What, are they worried about weight gain?
Well it is like traveling to any other place you know, but being subject to an “exit ban” when you try to leave. Usually it just happens to Chinese Americans, but in non-democratic countries like China, Russia, Turkey and North Korea you are subject to the whim of the governments who may want bargaining chips. In France and Europe there is increased risk of terror attacks which brings down their rating.
Look what happened to Otto Warmbier, detained by North Korea , abused and now dead. Going to China is safe for the majority of tourist but if you are the one detained, it is not a normal destination.
Both China and Russia tend to fight dirty when they perceive being slighted by their adversaries. Dual-nationals are especially vulnerable in this regard because they can’t even count on normal diplomatic protection. I believe the warning is warranted. Funny how they remain quiet about Russia, though.
The warning is primarily for US citizens also holding Chinese passports (is that even legal?) and US citizens whose ancestors are Chinese. If you don’t fall in these categories, you’re much less at risk.
“We started it”? It’s pretty sad if you truly believe that, and that it would justify imprisoning innocent people solely for revenge. This is the real China.
Maybe you shouldn’t be treating this soo lightly with comments about tea scams. It was just reported today that since the Meng Wanzhou arrest that China has detained 13 Canadian citizens in retaliation, so yes the warning is certainly appropriate given the rapid escalation that has recently occurred. Also, we didn’t start anything. There have been like two dozen americans at least that have been detained by China over the last 2 years. In the case of dual citizens the Chinese don’t recognize dual citizenship and they deny american citizens in that situation consular visits.
“We started it”? I mean no offense but you are incredibly ill-informed on international politics and Government. Maybe just stick to travel blogging and pushing your credit cards…..
@Paul – due respect I think you’ll find I’m surprisingly well informed especially considering how I’ve spent the last 22 years of my career.
Well, technically or rather legally, there are no dual US-Chinese nationals. Chinese law stipulates that you automatically lose your chinese citizenship once you acquire a foreign citizenship. However, it doesn’t stop those people from using their old Chinese passport to visit China. If the exit border control finds out your foreign citizenship, they will ban you from leaving the country before you register off your hukou in your home city and surrender your chinese passport. This practice has been there for years and it’s nothing new.
With respect to an arbitrary enforcement of local laws, I think it only applies to those who have been breaking the laws but the authority has been looking the other way. It wouldn’t surprise me if those people are now under more scrutiny. However, it doesn’t make sense to claim foul play because just because you weren’t caught for speeding doesn’t mean you are safe to speed in the future.
Another excellent post from Gary. The DOS list seems a bit politicized and maybe suffers from the ivory tower mentality of the State Dept. rather than real world experience. I can personally attest that Venezuela is far worse than most of the other Cat 3 countries and probably belongs in Cat 4. And Turkey is relatively safe (outside the Saudi embassy) and more of Cat 2 country. As for Cat 2 it makes no sense to include China (where random Canadians can be arrested as political retribution) in the same category as many Euro countries, where there is a small threat of Islamic terrorism. But China is otherwise very safe and has little street crime. The DOS seems to have a hard time comparing apples (violent crime) with orange (state action)
I’d trust traveling to China about as much as I would trust traveling to Egypt or Iran ,no thanks, I’ll keep my money in the states where I won’t be falsely held on some trumped up phony charges.
I had never heard of China’s “exit bans.” Interesting. But I would still like to visit one day.