Washington Department Warns of Risk of “Unlawful Detention” Due to “Arbitrary Application of Local Laws”
Americans should reconsider traveling to China due to the “high risk of wrongful detention,” the U.S. State Department warned in a travel advisory issued Friday (June 30, 2023).
The statement ranks the Asian powerhouse as a Tier 3 destination: Rethink travel due to the risk of “arbitrary application of local laws.” The risk of detention has been cited as a reason for US travelers to “exercise greater caution” when considering visiting the country.
“US citizens traveling or residing in China could be arrested without access to US consular services or information about their alleged crime. “US citizens in China may be subject to interrogation and detention without fair and transparent treatment under the law,” the statement said.
The new security alert comes amid a period of rapprochement between the United States and China. In early June, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Director of the Bureau of the Communist Party’s Central Commission on Foreign Affairs Wang Yi.
Blinken was the first US Secretary of State to visit China in five years. He was due to travel to the country in February but postponed the visit after a Chinese balloon flew over US territory. After the visit, the US Secretary of State said the US and China had made “progress” and that they agreed on the need to “stabilize” relations between the two superpowers.
On Thursday (July 6), it is US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s turn to travel to China to discuss economic relations between the countries. Yellen will remain in Beijing until Sunday (July 9).