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US recommends Americans reconsider traveling to China due to arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans

Travelers walk along a concourse at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. recommended Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions.

No specific cases were cited, but the advisory came after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May.

It also followed the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China’s interests.

China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the U.S. advisory said.

“U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime,” it warned.

The advisory also said that Chinese authorities “appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage.”

It listed a wide range of potential offenses from taking part in demonstrations to sending electronic messages critical of Chinese policies or even simply conducting research into areas deemed sensitive.

Exit bans could be used to compel individuals to participate in Chinese government investigations, pressure family members to return from abroad, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese citizens and “gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments,” the advisory said.

Similar advisories were issued for the semi-autonomous Chinese regions of Hong Kong and Macao. They were dated Friday and emailed to journalists on Monday.

The U.S. had issued similar advisories to its citizens in the past, but those in recent years had mainly warned of the dangers of being caught in strict and lengthy lockdowns while China closed its borders for three years under its draconian “zero-COVID” policy.

China generally responds angrily to what it considers U.S. efforts to impugn its authoritarian Communist Party-led system. It has issued its own travel advisories concerning the U.S., warning of the dangers of crime, anti-Asian discrimination and the high cost of emergency medical assistance.

China had no immediate response to the travel advisory on Monday.

Details of the accusations against the accused spy John Shing-Wan Leung are not available, given China’s authoritarian political system and the ruling Communist Party’s absolute control over legal matters. Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, was detained in the southeastern city of Suzhou on April 15, 2021 — a time when China had closed its borders and tightly restricted movement of people domestically to control the spread of COVID-19.

The warnings come as U.S.-China relations are at their lowest in years , over trade, technology, Taiwan and human rights, although the sides are taking some steps to improve the situation. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a long-delayed visit to Beijing last week and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making a much-anticipated trip to Beijing this week. China also recently appointed a new ambassador to Washington, who presented his credentials in a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Other incidents, however, have also pointed to the testiness in the relationship. China formally protested last month after Biden called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator,” days after Blinken’s visit.

Biden brushed off the protest, saying his words would have no negative impact on U.S.-China relations and that he still expects to meet with Xi sometime soon. Biden has also drawn rebukes from Beijing by explicitly saying the U.S. would defend self-governing Taiwan if China, which claims the island as its own territory, were to attack it.

Biden said his blunt statements regarding China are “just not something I’m going to change very much.”

The administration is also under pressure from both parties to take a tough line on China, making it one of the few issues on which most Democrats and Republicans agree.

Along with several detained Americans, Two Chinese-Australians, Cheng Lei, who formerly worked for China’s state broadcaster, and writer Yang Jun, have been held since 2020 and 2019 respectively without word on their sentencing.

Perhaps the most notorious case of arbitrary detention involved two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained in China in 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer and the daughter of the tech powerhouse’s founder, on a U.S. extradition request.

They were charged with national security crimes that were never explained and released three years later after the U.S. settled fraud charges against Meng. Many countries labeled China’s action “hostage politics.”

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Chinese Outbound and Inbound Travel Rules Roundup

To help keep the travel industry up to date and informed, we’re tracking all the latest developments and regulations regarding travel into and out of mainland china..

First published: 22 March, 2021 Last updated: 10 August, 2023

To help keep the travel industry up to date and informed, we’re tracking all the latest developments and regulations regarding travel into and out of mainland China. This post will be regularly updated with any new or changing policies.

Have we missed something? Please feel free to send questions or comments to [email protected]

For more updates, sign up for Dragon Trail’s monthly newsletter , and follow us on social media: – LinkedIn – Twitter – Facebook

All Dragon Trail clients receive an extensive Market Intelligence Report on China travel and digital news at the start of each month. Click here to learn more about the services we provide to help you effectively reach and engage with the Chinese consumer market and trade.

– From 8 January 2023, China no longer requires any quarantine for international arrivals. Passengers must have a negative COVID test result from within 48 hours of departure, and complete a China Customs health self-declaration online, via website, WeChat mini-program, or app. Inbound travelers to China will no longer need to apply for a green health code from the Chinese embassy in the country of departure.

– From 29 April 2023, all travelers to China from any point of departure will be able to take an antigen test, rather than a PCR test. Tests should be taken within 48 hours of departure, but airlines will no longer be required to check test results before allowing passengers to check in or board.

– From 15 March 2023: Foreigners can apply for any kind of visa – including tourism visas – to China. Visas to enter China which were issued before 28 March 2020 and have not yet expired, will become valid once again.

– From 31 March 2023: Foreigners can now travel to China as part of group tours, and buy travel packages (minimum flight + hotel) to travel to/in China.

– China’s National Immigration Administration resumed normal passport application processing on 8 January 2023, including passports needed for the purpose of tourism and VFR travel. Previously, new passports and passport renewals were for “essential” reasons (including business travel and study) only.

– On 20 January, it was announced that sale of outbound group and package travel (from a minimum of a flight + hotel package) could resume, for travel on or after 6 February 2023. To begin with, this policy is only for travel to 20 countries: Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, UAE, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba, and Argentina. Previously, the sale of outbound group and package travel was banned by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, starting from 27 January, 2020.

– The Ministry of Culture and Tourism released a second list of countries for group and package travel on 10 March, with travel permitted from 15 March. The countries are: Nepal, Brunei, Vietnam, Mongolia, Iran, Jordan, Tanzania, Namibia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Serbia, Croatia, France, Greece, Spain, Iceland, Albania, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Slovenia, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Panama, Dominica, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas.

– On 10 August 2023, an additional 78 countries were added to the list where travel agents are allowed to sell group tours and package travel: Oman, Pakistan, Bahrain, South Korea, Qatar, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Japan, Turkey, Israel, India, Algeria, Ethiopia, Benin, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe, Tunisia, Ireland, Estonia, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Germany, Finland, Netherlands, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Romania, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Sweden, Cyprus, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Costa Rica, United States, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, French Polynesia, French New Caledonia. At 138 countries in total, compared to 130 at the start of 2019, Chinese outbound group travel can be seen as fully restored, despite the absence of several countries (notably Canada) from this last list.

–  Mainland China’s border with Hong Kong reopened on 8 January 2023, with high-speed train services resuming on 15 January. As of 6 February, the mainland-Hong Kong-Macau border has been reopened completely, back to how it was before the pandemic.

– With China reopening for outbound travel, a number of countries around the world decided to impose restrictions on travelers from China in January 2023. Countries requiring negative COVID tests from within 48 hours of departure for visitors from China included: Australia, EU countries, India, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, UK, and USA. Japan and South Korea limited the airports into which flights from mainland China could land. Morocco banned travelers from China altogether.

These additional requirements for travelers from China were all phased out by the spring of 2023:

– India dropped its pre-departure testing requirement for travelers from China on 13 February 2023.

– From mid-February 2023, South Korea and China are now both issuing visas to each other’s citizens. Earlier in the year, South Korea had suspended issuing short-term visas to Chinese citizens, and in response, China stopped issuing short-term visas to Korean citizens. Searches for Korean visas on OTA Fliggy increased 1,179% within a few days of the change. COVID testing on arrival to South Korea ended 1 March, with pre-departure COVID testing scrapped from 11 March.

– On 17 February 2023, the EU announced it would phase out COVID testing for passengers from China, starting by ending pre-departure testing from the end of February, and ending random screenings in March.

– Israel ended pre-departure testing requirements for travelers from China on 28 February.

– Japan canceled pre-departure testing requirements for travelers from China from 1 March.

– The US dropped its COVID testing requirements for travelers from China from 10 March.

– Australia ended its testing requirements for travelers from China from 11 March.

– Canada ended testing requirements for travelers from China from 17 March.

– The UK ended testing requirements for travelers from China on 5 April.

On 11 November 2022, China’s circuit breaker policy, which had suspended flights as a consequence for having positive cases on board a previous flight, was lifted entirely.

By the end of July 2023, international flight volume had recovered to 46.9% of 2019’s levels. Recovery is uneven depending on destination. For example, flight capacity between China and the UK is now fully recovered, but on the other end of the spectrum, there are still only 24 flights a week between China and the US as of 10 August 2023 — just 6.5% of the pre-pandemic volume. ( See a snapshot of international flight connectivity for 17-23 July here. )

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The Latest on U.S. Travel Restrictions

By Lauren Hard Oct. 19, 2021

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What to Know: U.S. Travel Restrictions

Beginning today, international visitors who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus can enter the United States by air or across the land borders with Canada and Mexico.

Here’s the latest →

The new policy ends an 18-month ban on nonessential travel from 33 countries, including China, Brazil and European Union members. The ban had affected tourists and those hoping to visit family and friends in the U.S.

The rules reorient the U.S. approach to vetting its visitors during the pandemic.

Instead of basing entry decisions on travelers’ countries of origin, the U.S. is focusing on vaccination status.

International visitors flying into the U.S. now need to show proof of vaccination before boarding and a negative coronavirus test taken within three days of their flight.

The three vaccines available in the U.S. — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — are accepted, as are vaccines cleared for emergency use by the W.H.O., including AstraZeneca and Covaxin.

Unvaccinated foreign visitors cannot enter the country, with limited exemptions.

Unvaccinated Americans returning home need to test negative for the coronavirus within one day of their flight and show proof they have purchased another test to take after arriving.

The hope is with these longstanding bans being lifted, the U.S. tourism industry will start to recover. The halt on travel caused a loss of nearly $300 billion in visitor spending, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

Keep up with the latest travel news, trends and feature stories.

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Why So Few Foreign Tourists Are Visiting China, Despite Lifted Pandemic Restrictions

P eak summer in China — the first in four years without harsh COVID restrictions: Tickets for attractions like the Forbidden City in Beijing are selling out in minutes. Streets are crowded and subway stations are even more packed than usual. Foreign tourists, however, are few.

For many, China is a step too far. The pandemic is gone, but the memory of how it was handled remains — images of deserted streets and barricaded buildings are hardly fodder for holiday brochures and tourism campaigns. Visa hassles, a lack of flights, idiosyncratic payment systems and the language barrier also limit China’s appeal to tourists from places such as North America and Europe. 

“If you go to the Forbidden City these days and find 20 or 30 foreigners, that would be a lot,” said Jay Li, a tour guide in China’s capital. “Most people come to China for business reasons and maybe tour around a bit. It’s certainly not comparable with the situation before COVID — foreign tourists are probably only about 20% of that level.”

More From TIME

Outbound limits.

Even a plan to increase international flights won’t result in a sudden rush of tourists, or bring numbers anywhere near to pre-pandemic levels when China received about 136 million visitors a year on average. China and the U.S. have agreed to raise the number of round-trip flights to 24 a week by the end of October. Previously, the number of weekly flights between the two was 340.

American Airlines Group Inc. told Bloomberg on Wednesday it would add three weekly flights between Dallas and Shanghai early next year.

China also just lifted a ban on group tours to overseas destinations including the U.S., Australia, the UK, South Korea and Japan, easing the door open for outbound travel. The effect of that is likely to be muted too, given a general hesitancy to travel abroad after the pandemic scarred the nation’s economy and psyche.

Read More: China’s Tourists Can Travel Again. Here’s Why the World Is Still Waiting for the Rebound

The main factor putting Chinese travelers off overseas trips is concern about safety in other countries, where they are fearful of getting an unfriendly reception, according to an April survey by Dragon Tail International. Also cited in polls by the company: health concerns, difficulty in getting documents such as visas, and the high cost. In the April survey, 58% of respondents said they either definitely wouldn’t leave mainland China in 2023 or were unsure about going abroad.

With the sluggish economy also putting the brakes on spending, Chinese are getting their travel fixes closer to home.

Liberated from the all-consuming virus restrictions, domestic air traffic is now above where it was before the COVID crisis and authorities expect the travel market to generate 5 trillion yuan ($700 billion) in revenue this year.

Beyond Beijing and Shanghai, popular destinations include Chengdu, Kunming, Hangzhou, Xian — home to the Terracotta Army — and Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region in the country’s northwest.

Inbound Deterrents

The concerns Chinese tourists have about traveling overseas are reflected the other way, for visitors coming into the country. A sense of distrust and caution developed over the pandemic as relations between China and other countries soured. 

A U.S. travel advisory recommends reconsidering travel to mainland China “due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.”

Other nations have similar views. The Australian government says a high degree of caution should be taken in China, warning that authorities have detained foreigners on so-called national security concerns and that there’s a risk of “arbitrary detention or harsh enforcement of local laws, including broadly defined National Security Laws.”

The warnings have, unsurprisingly, dented enthusiasm. 

“The inflow of people into China is modest at the moment,” outgoing Mandarin Oriental Group Chief Executive Officer James Riley told Bloomberg News earlier this month. “There are some broader geopolitical tensions that are causing people to pause. It’s taking a little bit longer than it might otherwise have done.”

Air travel essentially dried up during COVID, which emerged in China in early 2020 and resulted in the world’s strictest border controls. It takes time to rebuild flight capacity from such unprecedented lows.

China’s three biggest carriers — Air China Ltd., China Southern Airlines Co. and China Eastern Airlines Corp. — likely posted combined losses of almost 13 billion yuan in the first half of this year, according to HSBC Holdings Plc, even after the government finally abandoned its draconian virus containment policies. For the period from 2020 to 2022, losses amounted to close to 190 billion yuan for the trio.

Another factor making China daunting for visitors is the use of digital payment platforms that are unique to the country. Non-Chinese credit cards are rarely accepted, and it’s often difficult to even use cash. Most vendors — from street stalls to large department stores — only accept local payment systems such as WeChat Pay and Alipay.  

Barbara Kosmun, a Slovenia-based filmmaker, traveled to China this summer to meet friends and family working there. Kosmun last visited in 2019 and while she has shopped using WeChat Pay before so the setup wasn’t totally alien, it still proved difficult.

Read More: How China’s Digital Currency Could Challenge the Almighty Dollar

China’s digital payment system “seems more difficult than before COVID,” she said. After trying five times to upload a passport picture to reactivate her WeChat Pay account and still failing, Kosmun gave up and relied on friends to cover her costs.

The People’s Bank of China has said all businesses should accept cash, and WeChat Pay and Alipay have both recently pledged to improve links with foreign bank cards, but the hurdles needed to go through just to spend money is a source of frustration. 

“This WeChat thing makes me feel unwelcome,” Kosmun said. “China is the most convenient country in the world, provided you speak Mandarin, you have the right apps and you have a Chinese card.”

Without the local payment platforms installed on smartphones, it’s nigh on impossible to rent equipment such as bicycles to tour around a city. Local phone numbers are generally needed to book tickets for tourist attractions as well as ordering taxis and for other travel, while reserving train tickets can be a complicated process, especially for non-Mandarin speakers.

Getting visas can also be a challenge for many visitors to China, requiring going to an embassy or application center to queue — sometimes for several hours — and submit documents, and then returning days later to collect them. In Singapore, people have queued for more than 16 hours to get an appointment, the South China Morning Post reported . They are also costly — a visa for U.S. citizens is at least $185.

A post on Chinese website Zhihu.com from June was widely shared for highlighting that American tourists were choosing Southeast Asia and Europe while avoiding China due to the many hurdles they face there. 

“Unless you have very deep feelings for China, it is definitely not the first choice for travel,” it said.

—With assistance from Danny Lee and Xiao Zibang.

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China Travel Restrictions

Traveler's COVID-19 vaccination status

Traveling from the United States to China

Open for vaccinated visitors

COVID-19 testing

Not required

Not required for vaccinated visitors

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Recommended on public transportation.

China entry details and exceptions

Ready to travel, find flights to china, find stays in china, explore more countries on travel restrictions map, destinations you can travel to now, dominican republic, netherlands, philippines, puerto rico, switzerland, united arab emirates, united kingdom, know when to go.

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Can I travel to China from the United States?

Most visitors from the United States, regardless of vaccination status, can enter China.

Can I travel to China if I am vaccinated?

Fully vaccinated visitors from the United States can enter China without restrictions.

Can I travel to China without being vaccinated?

Unvaccinated visitors from the United States can enter China without restrictions.

Do I need a COVID test to enter China?

Visitors from the United States are not required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test or antigen result upon entering China.

Can I travel to China without quarantine?

Travelers from the United States are not required to quarantine.

Do I need to wear a mask in China?

Mask usage in China is recommended on public transportation.

Are the restaurants and bars open in China?

Restaurants in China are open. Bars in China are .

China's use of exit bans leaves Americans at risk of being arbitrarily detained

Sweeping “exit bans” and arbitrary detentions in China are having a chilling effect, among not just the Chinese diaspora with ties to their homeland but also international businesses increasingly anxious about operating there, Western experts and human rights watchdogs say.

Under President Xi Jinping’s decadelong rule, China has become more authoritarian by seeking to control many aspects of public life, from internet censorship and rewriting high school textbooks to imposing ideological crackdowns on the music and entertainment industries.

The Chinese government rejects these characterizations. But for many people and businesses with links to China, operating there has only become more difficult. Its increased use of so-called exit bans and sweeping new counterespionage laws are creating a hostile environment for foreign business, according to experts.

These changes have altered the life of one naturalized American citizen from Shanghai who asked not to be named to protect family and friends still living in China. 

Before the pandemic lockdowns , he would travel to Shanghai every two years to visit his family and friends. But post-Covid things started to change, he said, and after a recent State Department advisory against traveling to China, combined with news reports about people being detained for no reason, he now thinks twice before booking a flight.

“Before Covid we used to go there every other year. And every time we went back it changed so much, generally in the right direction. There were more people and the city was getting fancier,” he said. “But since Covid, there were so many things that happened, especially the lockdown in Shanghai, and the political situation is very different.” 

He said he would return in the event of a family emergency but wants to avoid it if at all possible. 

“I don’t just want to go back” because officials can “stop you for whatever and you cannot leave,” he said. “I’m not saying I’m sure I’m going to be stopped, but there is a possibility and that’s a concern, especially as I have a family here.”

It was against this backdrop that the State Department issued its advisory in late June, urging Americans to “reconsider travel” to mainland China because of “arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.”

U.S. citizens of Chinese descent “may be subject to additional scrutiny and harassment,” the advisory reads, with officials potentially using these bans to pressure the family members of alleged dissidents abroad and gain leverage over foreign governments.

Andrew Scobell, a distinguished fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, an independent Washington think tank funded by Congress, said China has “really ratcheted up the intimidation and it’s meant to cow people into silence.” 

“But it will have adverse effects, including intimidating people to the extent that they won’t go back” and “intimidating CEOs and other business leaders,” he added. 

Part of the issue is that China does not recognize dual citizenship, creating complications for naturalized Americans of Chinese descent.

Beijing believes the global Chinese population have a “shared cultural background, irrespective of their nationality anywhere else” and they “owe a debt of cultural obligation to China,” according to David Lampton, a professor emeritus at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.

These people feel “particularly vulnerable” to arbitrary action by China, which feels “perfectly unconstrained to do with you what they want — irrespective of what other nationality documents you may hold,” he said. People with “dual travel documents don’t necessarily know what the rules are,” he added. “You can think you’re subject to American consular protection and so on but that may in fact not be the case.”

This comes as relations between Washington and Beijing continue to cool off, with President Joe Biden characterizing his presidency as a U.S.-led democratic struggle against the autocracies, namely China. He and others want to “de-risk” their relationship with Beijing, in theory continuing lucrative trade but restricting some exports, such as microchips, while retaining the right to criticize China over human rights and other alleged malpractices.

China frequently bristles at what it sees as foreign meddling and has denied the allegations made in the travel advisory.

“China welcomes the people and businesses of all countries,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said when asked about it on July 10. “We are committed to protecting their safety and lawful rights and interests in China in accordance with the law, including their freedom of entry and exit.”

On the same day, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a warning to Chinese people in the U.S.

“There have been frequent incidents of gun violence and discrimination against Asians in the United States,” it said. It reminded “Chinese citizens in the U.S. to pay close attention to the local social security situation” and “beware of falling into the tricks and traps of the U.S.” 

Human rights watchdogs and independent international analysts say the evidence suggests Beijing’s protestations of innocence are unfounded.

Since 2018, Xi’s China has passed or amended five laws authorizing exit bans , bringing the total to 15, according to the Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders. Mentions of exit bans have skyrocketed eightfold in China’s Supreme People’s Court database, it said.

These bans have been used for years to target Uyghurs , the mostly Muslim ethnic group that Washington and others say Beijing persecutes. But the bans' reach is widening, according to Safeguard Defenders, encompassing relatives of activists and “so-called fugitives” living outside of China, as well as “human rights defenders, businesspeople, officials and foreigners,” the group said in an April report . These bans are often complex, vague and impossible to appeal, it said.

Furthermore, on July 1, China updated its counterespionage law, broadening the definition of spying and banning the transfer of any data the government deems related to national security. Fear is rife within the international business community that this could be used to target anyone indiscriminately.

Even before it was updated, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned in April that the law was “a matter of serious concern for the investor community.” It said in a statement that it cast “a wide net over the range of documents, data or materials considered relevant to national security.” This additional scrutiny “dramatically increases the uncertainties and risks” of doing business in China, it added.

The reach of Xi’s China does not end at its borders. In April, two people in New York were arrested on charges of operating an illegal Chinese police station , part of what Safeguard Defenders says is a global network to monitor dissidents that stretches to the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, all of which have opened parallel investigations. China denies this, saying the facilities are volunteer-run sites assisting Chinese nationals with renewing driver’s licenses and other services.

This landscape risks mainland China going the way of Hong Kong , which saw an exodus of intellectuals and entrepreneurs when Beijing introduced a new national security law in 2020 that critics said eroded its historical freedoms.

“It isn’t just ideological suppression, it can be a tool in business relations gone sour,” said Lampton at Johns Hopkins. Chinese officials “could snatch” someone involved in a business deal “off the street and say, ‘You’re not leaving until we’ve resolved this.’”

For the unnamed naturalized American citizen from China, all of this presents an uncertain future, with his homeland subject to the chaotic whims of geopolitics.

“I think it’s going to get better, maybe in a year or two,” he said. “It depends on what happens between the U.S. and China.”

Alexander Smith is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital based in London.

Henry Austin is a senior editor for NBC News Digital based in London.

Did Trump Ban All Travel From China at the Start of the Pandemic?

Trump credits an early 2020 ban on travelers from mainland china as his signature move to tackle the pandemic., nur ibrahim, published sept. 22, 2020.

About this rating

A restriction on foreigners traveling from mainland China took effect on Feb. 2, 2020, but thousands of Chinese and foreign nationals from Hong Kong and Macau entered the U.S. in the three months following. Thousands of Americans and foreigners still arrived in the U.S. on direct flights from China after the restrictions were imposed.

There was no ban on travel from China’s administrative zones, as thousands of travelers managed to enter the U.S. from Hong Kong and Macau, regions also struck by COVID-19. Many travelers did not receive the same enhanced screenings for the virus as those required by Americans returning from mainland China.

Evidence from past studies and recent reports showed that travel control measures marginally delayed but did not stop the spread of pandemics, but there is little available proof that the February restrictions helped save thousands or millions of lives as Trump has claimed. Differing responses from experts and officials suggest that the full impact of this policy has yet to be determined.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called ban on travel from China was a major talking point he frequently raised as evidence of his quick response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Announced on Jan. 31, 2020, and enforced on Feb. 2, 2020, the Trump administration stated that the ban would prevent the entry of aliens, or non-U.S. citizens, who had been in mainland China in the 14 days prior to traveling to the U.S.

In the ensuing weeks and months, Trump continued to reference the ban multiple times as a success story that saved lives:

We would’ve had thousands of people additionally die if we let people come in from heavily-infected China. But we stopped it; we did a travel ban in January [...] And we saved tens of thousands of lives, but we actually saved millions of lives by closing — by closing up, we saved millions, potentially millions of lives.

But many people did manage to come to the U.S. from “heavily-infected China” and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau. Not only did news organizations uncover the porous and mismanaged nature of the “ban,” noting that the measures came too late , but some experts found little to no evidence that the ban resulted in a significant prevention of a spread of COVID-19 cases.

A more accurate way to describe Trump’s Jan. 31 proclamation is as a “restriction” on travel from mainland China — not as an outright ban. There were numerous exemptions in place that appeared to nullify the goal of preventing travel into the country to stop the spread of the virus. These exemptions included people traveling from the Special Autonomous Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and U.S. citizens, residents, their spouses, and close relatives. More details about the exemptions can be found here .

Hong Kong and Macau are both governed under the “one country, two systems” principle that allows them to retain their own forms of administration, but with limited autonomy. They are still largely under the control of the People’s Republic of China. From both of these regions, Chinese citizens and other foreign nationals have been able to travel into the U.S. since restrictions were imposed. An Associated Press report found that more than 5,600 Chinese and foreign nationals flew to the U.S. in February 2020 alone. Around Feb. 2, at least 15 cases of the virus had been detected in Hong Kong, and seven more were found in Macau that were later traced to the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan.

Even before the restriction was imposed, Americans and other nationalities came into the U.S. from mainland China unabated. According to an April 2020 report from The New York Times , at least 430,000 people arrived in the United States on direct flights from China since the outbreak was reported on the last day of 2019, including nearly 40,000 in the two months after the February restrictions were put in place. Thousands of these travelers flew directly from Wuhan. At least 60% of the travelers arriving in the U.S. on direct flights from China in February were not American citizens, according to government data.

Screening and monitoring of many travelers was found to be sporadic, and the data shared with states was incorrect, plagued by bad telephone numbers, erroneous itineraries, and travelers even claiming they had never been to China. According to internal notes and emails received by The Associated Press, there were numerous examples of travelers slipping through the cracks in the system. In one email from Feb. 6, 2020, a CDC employee wrote : “Hearing word of people already leaking through screening system and ending up in states without the funneling airports. Knew it would not be perfect, but it has begun.”

Furthermore, research being conducted in the aftermath of travel restrictions showed little evidence that they had a major impact on curbing the spread of the virus. A paper published in March in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looked at the impact of border control measures implemented in several countries. They concluded “that these measures likely slowed the rate of exportation from mainland China to other countries, but are insufficient to contain the global spread of COVID-19.”

On June 8, 2020, the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, released a working paper looking at the effects of Trump’s travel restrictions from China. They noted that historically, such restrictions have been ineffective at halting or significantly delaying the spread of pandemics. They concluded:

The travel restrictions had no effect on the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States. Regardless of the intervention date or how the spread of COVID-19 is measured, we find that the travel restrictions did not delay the prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States.

We should note that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, praised the administration's restrictions on travel. On Feb. 29, 2020, he said : "We prevented travel from China to the United States. If we had not done that, we would have had many, many more cases right here that we would have to be dealing with."

Few doubt that the death toll from COVID-19 would have been heavier if global travel had not been "constricted." That said, we are unable to determine the full impact of the travel restrictions, including the number of lives saved in the United States. Snopes reached out to Trump’s presidential campaign to learn if there was any evidence of the number of lives saved as a result of the travel restrictions, and why the restrictions exempted travel from Hong Kong and Macau. We will update this post if we hear back.

The Trump administration did impose a number of restrictions, but not a complete ban on travel from China and its administrative regions. Since some analysis suggested it had a minimal impact on reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S., but the full effects of the administration's actions are still being determined, we rate this claim a “Mixture.”

Braun, Stephen, Hope Yen, and Calvin Woodward.   "AP Fact Check: Trump and the Virus-Era China Ban That Isn’t."    AP News .   18 July 2020. 

Braun, Stephen, and Jason Dearen.   "Trump’s 'Strong Wall’ to Block COVID-19 From China Had Holes."     AP News.    4 July 2020. 

C.C.   "Why Macau is Less Demanding of Democracy than Hong Kong."     The Economist.   15 September 2017. 

Eder, Steve, Henry Fountain, Michael H. Keller, Muyi Xiao, and Alexandra Stevenson.   "430,000 People Have Traveled From China to U.S. Since Coronavirus Surfaced."     The New York Times .   15 April 2020.    

James, Erin, and Saad B. Omer.   "Why a Travel Ban Won’t Stop the Coronavirus."     The National Interest .   3 February 2020. 

Nowrasteh, Alex, and Andrew C. Forrester.   "How U.S. Travel Restrictions on China Affected the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States."     CATO Institute.    8 June 2020. 

Wells, Chad R., Pratha Sah, Seyed M. Moghadas, Abhishek Pandey, Affan Shoukat, Yaning Wang, Zheng Wang, Lauren A. Meyers, Burton H. Singer, and Alison P. Galvani.   "Impact of International Travel and Border Control Measures on the Global Spread of the Novel 2019 Coronavirus Outbreak."    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.    31 March 2020. 

Whitehouse.gov .   "Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus."    31 January 2020. 

Whitehouse.gov .   "Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Conference."    29 February 2020. 

Whitehouse.gov .   "Remarks by President Trump in Press Conference."    14 July 2020. 

Whitehouse.gov .   "Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing."    21 July 2020. 

By Nur Ibrahim

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

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It Just Got Easier for Americans to Visit China—Here's What to Know

By Matt Ortile

I was recently applying for a new passport, dreaming of all the new stamps and visas I’d collect, when I wondered: “Can Americans travel to China?” As it turns out, some recent policy changes out of Beijing have made it easier than ever to marvel at the Great Wall of China , take in the cosmopolitan bustle of Shanghai , and devour spicy Sichuan -style dishes at the source.

As of January 1, 2024, US travelers applying for tourist visas to China are no longer required to present proof of roundtrip tickets for travel, hotel reservations, or specific itineraries. The development came after a declaration in December by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States that states both countries mutually agreed to simplify the visa process in an effort to “facilitate people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States.”

To learn more about how US passport holders can travel to China, I reached out to travel specialists with deep expertise in tourism in China and Asia more broadly: Mei Zhang, the founder of WildChina and a member of Condé Nast Traveler ’s Global Advisory Board ; and Catherine Heald, co-founder and CEO of Remote Lands , a luxury travel advisor specializing in destinations throughout Asia.

Here’s what you need to know about traveling to China with a US passport in 2024.

Can Americans travel to China?

Yes, Americans can travel to China for tourism purposes. The country previously upheld travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from early 2020 to March 2023. At the time, a quarantine period was required of anyone who entered the country; additionally, Zhang of WildChina explains, flights between the United States and China were extremely limited, and so tickets were prohibitively expensive .

Interest in travel to China has increased in recent months, says Heald of Remote Lands, thanks to the new visa application rules that have come into effect in 2024: “Even when the country opened, obtaining a visa was somewhat difficult, so it did not really see an influx of travelers from the US until this year.”

What kind of visa do I need to visit China?

US passport holders need a visa to visit China, obtained in advance of travel, i.e. there is no “visa on arrival” option. Tourist visas valid for ten years and good for multi-entry use must be acquired though a Chinese embassy or consulate, or a visa service. Currently, for US citizens, the cost for a tourist visa for travel to China is $140, whether for single-use or multi-entry use. This is a reduced fee, in effect until December 31, 2024 .

According to the Chinese embassy in the United States, the tourist visa application requirements include: a passport with at least six-months’ validity and two blank pages; a photocopy of the passport’s ID page; a completed application form, filled out online and printed; proof of residence, like a driver’s license or a utility bill; and a completed “ Where You Stay Form ” that attests the applicant is currently applying for a visa from within the US.

Admittedly, the steps are a bit more involved than the path you’d walk (or fly) to countries to which US citizens easily have access, or to destinations that offer visa-on-arrival programs. “When it feels too convoluted to navigate on your own, we recommend using a visa service like CIBT to make it easier,” Zhang says.

If you’re just transiting through China (if you have a 12-hour layover in Shanghai, for example, and want to go into the city before flying to your final stop), you’re in luck: Heald says that in certain Chinese cities, foreign nationals from 54 countries, including the US, are eligible for the 24-, 72-, or 144-hour transit visa-free policies, as long as they stay within certain areas and can present proof of confirmed dates of travel to a third country.

For first-timers visiting China, experts suggest an itinerary that includes one, two, or all three of the Chinese metropolitan triumvirate: Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai.

When is the best time to visit China?

Spring and fall are the best times to travel in China, according to Zhang and Heald. “ Summer can be very hot, depending on where you are in China, and also busier than usual, since kids are on summer break and traveling with their families during this time,” Zhang says.

She also recommends to plan travel around the calendar of Chinese national holidays, since travel can be more challenging due to the heightened amount of activity. “The main holidays to avoid are Chinese New Year, the May Day holiday in the first week of May, and Golden Week, which is the first week of October).” It’s a fair point, but if those times are what work for you, don’t let the craze of the crowds stop you. I imagine it would truly be an awesome sight to see, a Chinese city or town celebrating the Lunar New Year .

I’m visiting China for the first time—what city should I visit?

Both Zhang and Heald suggest an itinerary that includes one, two, or all three of the Chinese metropolitan triumvirate: Beijing , Xi’an, and Shanghai. Go for the Forbidden City and the Great Wall in the capital, see the iconic Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, and head to the Bund for the skyscraper-laden cosmopolitan side of China (where you can stay at the Peninsula Shanghai , an editor-favorite hotel featured on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List for 2024 ).

Matt Ortile

Scott Laird

Siobhan Reid

Meaghan Kenny

If you’re keen to get a little bit of all three—including the Sichuan city of Chengdu—Heald recommends the Classic China tour offered by Remote Lands that highlights some of the country’s most significant historical and cultural sites. (Also: pandas.) Speaking of nature, don’t be afraid to venture out of the cities, if time permits. For getting off the beaten path, Zhang recommends the mountainous province of Yunnan, while Heald mentions that travelers seeking spiritual experiences are going to Tibet (which requires another entry permit).

What else should Americans know before traveling to China?

It’s important to remember that the Great Firewall of China is very real: Websites like Google (including Gmail), YouTube, Facebook, and others are blocked in the country, Heald says, “especially if they touch on sensitive subjects.” She recommends downloading a VPN (virtual private network) to all of your devices before entering China, which allows you to freely use the Internet as usual. “If you do not wish to get a VPN, then plan accordingly and notify any concerned parties that you may be out of touch for a few days,” she says.

Still, China is changing at a rapid pace, Zhang notes. “Some of our recent travelers have described it as stepping into the future .” In the main cities, taxi cars are mostly electric. Sustainability is taking a leading role in development, and high-speed trains connect the entire country, with new rail lines opening regularly. Digital payments have swept every corner of the nation—“everybody from luxury stores to street food carts has a QR code”—and almost no one carries cash or credit cards. Zhang says, “For those who have visited China before, it has changed. And for those who have not visited before, you’re in for something wholly unexpected indeed.”

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China: Overseas students face harassment and surveillance in campaign of transnational repression

• China-based family members of Chinese students in Europe and North America targeted in retaliation for students’ overseas activism
• Students face ‘surveillance’ at protests and online
• Universities urged to combat threats to academic freedom and human rights

Chinese and Hong Kong students studying abroad are living in fear of intimidation, harassment and surveillance as Chinese authorities seek to prevent them from engaging with ‘sensitive’ or political issues while overseas, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.

Students based in Europe and North America interviewed for the report, ‘ On my campus, I am afraid’ , described being photographed and followed at protests in their host cities, while many said their families in China had been targeted and threatened by police in connection with the students’ activism overseas.

“The testimonies gathered in this report paint a chilling picture of how the Chinese and Hong Kong governments seek to silence students even when they are thousands of miles from home, leaving many students living in fear,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s China Director.

“The Chinese authorities’ assault on human rights activism is playing out in the corridors and classrooms of the many universities that host Chinese and Hong Kong students. The impact of China’s transnational repression poses a serious threat to the free exchange of ideas that is at the heart of academic freedom, and governments and universities must do more to counter it.”

‘You are being watched’

In the most wide-ranging documentation to date of the Chinese government’s transnational repression at foreign universities, Amnesty International carried out in-depth interviews with 32 Chinese students, including 12 from Hong Kong, studying at universities in eight countries – Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

One student, Rowan*, described how within hours of attending a commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, she heard from her father in China, who had been contacted by security officials. He was told to “educate his daughter who is studying overseas not to attend any events that may harm China’s reputation in the world”.

Rowan had not shared her real name with anyone involved in the protest or posted online about her own involvement, so she was shocked at the speed with which Chinese officials had identified her as a participant, located her father and used him to warn her against any further dissent. Rowan told Amnesty International that the message was clear: “You are being watched, and though we are on the other side of the planet, we can still reach you.”  

Surveillance, censorship and targeting family members in China

In recent years, many overseas Chinese students have taken part in public criticism of the Chinese government, including around the 2022 “White Paper” protests in mainland China, the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and annual commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. Amnesty’s report demonstrates how such activities have drawn the attention of – and often repercussions from – Chinese authorities. The report identifies this phenomenon as transnational repression: government actions to silence, control or deter dissent and criticism by nationals abroad, in violation of their human rights.

The Chinese authorities have honed a strategy to curb students’ human rights wherever they are in the world. Amnesty International's Sarah Brooks

Almost a third of students interviewed by Amnesty said Chinese officials had harassed their families to prevent the students from criticizing the Chinese government or its policies while overseas. Threats made to family members in mainland China included to revoke their passports, get them fired from their jobs, prevent them from receiving promotions and retirement benefits, or even limiting their physical freedom. Chinese police also pressured or instructed students’ China-based family members to cut off financial support to their children to coerce them into silence in at least three cases.

Several students told Amnesty that, while abroad, they believed they were under surveillance by Chinese authorities or their agents. Almost half claimed they had been photographed or recorded at events such as protests by individuals they believed were acting on behalf of the state. And although students could not provide conclusive proof of these individuals’ identities, Amnesty’s research documented a pattern of near-identical observations across various locations and settings, supporting students’ beliefs.

“For many Chinese students, travelling abroad offers the promise of an opportunity to flourish, free from the restrictions placed on political and academic discourse at home. But Amnesty’s research shows that these students can’t escape the repressive practices of the Chinese government, even when they are outside China’s borders,” Sarah Brooks said.

“The Chinese authorities have honed a strategy to curb students’ human rights wherever they are in the world. The surveillance of overseas students and the targeting of their China-based family members are systematic tactics designed to control nationals from afar.”

Chinese authorities’ ability to monitor the activities of overseas students is also enabled by Beijing’s extensive censorship and digital surveillance capabilities behind the “Great Firewall”, which requires students to rely on exploitable Chinese state-approved apps to communicate with their family and friends in China.

In the wake of this report, host governments can and should take concrete steps to counter the climate of fear described by students. Amnesty International's Sarah Brooks

More than half of the students interviewed by Amnesty regularly self-censored their conversations and posts on digital platforms out of fear that Chinese authorities were monitoring their activities, including on non-Chinese social media platforms such as X, Facebook and Instagram. Several students were able to provide strong evidence of this digital surveillance, such as when police showed one student’s parents transcripts of his online WeChat conversations with family members.

Nearly one-third of students interviewed by Amnesty International experienced censorship on Chinese social media platforms, such as WeChat, to a similar degree as in mainland China, despite being located overseas. Some students tried registering accounts to overseas phone numbers but still faced censorship. One student’s WeChat account was temporarily banned following their posts about a White Paper protest in Germany.

Climate of fear on campus

Virtually all students interviewed said they self-censored their social interactions to some extent while overseas, in fear of retaliation from Chinese authorities. A majority described limiting their participation in the classroom due to the perceived risk that their comments and opinions might be reported to Chinese state authorities, and a third of students said these risks led them to change the focus of their studies or to drop out of prospective careers in academia entirely.

Students from Hong Kong said the city’s repressive laws, such as the National Security Law and the recently enacted Article 23 law, exacerbated their fears while studying abroad due to the fact these laws can be used to target people anywhere in the world.

Logan* told Amnesty that his fear of being identified by Hong Kong authorities had undermined his ability to pursue an academic career in his chosen field. “I would really want to publish my thesis… but I’m worried, so I chose not to,” he said.

More than half of the students interviewed said they suffered mental health issues linked to their fears, ranging from stress and trauma to paranoia and depression, in one case leading to hospitalization. Eight students told Amnesty International they had cut off contact with their loved ones back home to protect them from being targeted by the Chinese authorities, leaving them even more isolated and alone.

Many students also felt it necessary to distance themselves from their fellow Chinese students out of a fear that their comments or political views might be reported to authorities in China, exacerbating a sense of isolation. Some students explained that the existence of official Chinese and Hong Kong government national security hotlines to report on others contributes to this fear.

We urge the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to cease all practices constituting transnational repression. Amnesty International's Sarah Brooks

Nearly half of those interviewed said they were afraid of returning home, and six students said they saw no option but to apply for political asylum after their studies, as they believed they would face persecution if they returned to China.

Several interviewees said that even some non-Chinese university staff censored themselves on China-related activities connected to activism. One student said a researcher cut ties with him due to his support of the White Paper protests, as the researcher feared the association might impair her access to research opportunities in China.

Universities ill-equipped to support Chinese students

There are an estimated 900,000 Chinese students studying abroad, and Amnesty International is calling on host governments and universities to do more to protect the rights of those among them who face the threat of transnational repression.

“In the wake of this report, host governments can and should take concrete steps to counter the climate of fear described by students, such as by educating their communities, setting up reporting mechanisms for alleged acts of transnational repression and speaking out when incidents occur,” Sarah Brooks said.

“The eight countries featured in this report, and the many others hosting Chinese and Hong Kong students, have an obligation to protect international students under their jurisdiction.”

In early 2024, Amnesty International wrote to 55 leading universities in the eight research countries to enquire about their existing provisions for protecting students against transnational repression. Amnesty received 24 substantive responses (20 from Europe and four from North America).

“Universities in Europe and North America are often unaware of, and ill-equipped to deal with, transnational repression and the resulting chilling effect taking place on their campuses,” Sarah Brooks said.

While some institutions had committed resources to supporting students’ human rights in general, most of these resources seemed unlikely to effectively address the issues faced by students highlighted in Amnesty’s research.

Meanwhile, the repressive response from many universities in the USA to students protesting in support of Palestinian rights over the past few weeks, with a similar pattern also emerging more recently in Europe, underscores that university administrators have more to do to fulfil their responsibility to protect the rights of students to free expression and peaceful assembly.

“While universities and host governments have a responsibility to protect students, ultimately the Chinese authorities are the principal orchestrators of the repression detailed in the report. We urge the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to cease all practices constituting transnational repression and allow overseas students to focus on their studies without fearing for their safety.”

*All students’ names, and their universities, have been anonymized to protect the safety of participants.

State Department issues travel alert for LGBTQ people, events abroad

The alert follows a similar warning from the FBI and the DHS.

The U.S. State Department issued a "Worldwide Caution" alert on Friday, warning U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution due to "the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events."

According to an administration official familiar with the matter, the alert is connected to the recent announcement from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security that foreign terrorist organizations might seek to exploit "LGBTQIA+-related events and venues," including events during 2024 Pride month, which begins in June.

MORE: New Title IX regulations intensify fight over transgender youth restrictions in schools

The alert comes on the same day the State Department is commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia.

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Last year's Pride month was also marked by safety concerns after the Department of Homeland Security issued a report warning that domestic violence extremists and people who commit hate crimes have increased threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community in recent years.

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LGBTQ advocacy groups have issued a "state of emergency" in the U.S. following record-breaking waves of anti-LGBTQ legislation as well as a spike in reports of hate incidents.

The State Department alert also advises traveling Americans to exercise increased caution because of the potential for more generalized terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions "against U.S. citizens and interests."

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China 'Dumbstruck’ by Russia’s Coronavirus Entry Ban – Kommersant

Chinese diplomats were at a loss after Russia barred entry to Chinese citizens as a coronavirus prevention measure, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. 

Russia announced the temporary entry ban for Chinese tourists, workers, students and private travelers starting Thursday. The suspension does not affect non-Chinese nationals traveling from China, and Chinese transit passengers will be allowed to pass through Russia.

“The decision was made at a time when the number of cases has declined, so it’s not clear what logic guided the Russian authorities,” an unnamed diplomatic source told Kommersant.

The publication did not specify whether it quoted a Chinese or Russian diplomatic source.

While death toll from the coronavirus in mainland China surpassed 2,000 on Wednesday, the number of new cases there has fallen for a second consecutive day.

China’s foreign ministry said that Russia had informed Beijing of the entry ban in advance. 

It added that it understood that Moscow’s steps “aren’t a complete travel ban but are temporary initiatives that will be adjusted or even lifted as soon as the situation improves.”

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia is taking “every measure” to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus in the country.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it continues to issue business, humanitarian and transit visas to Chinese citizens. It suspended the issuance of work visas and electronic visas for Chinese citizens earlier this month.

Experts estimate that Russia’s tourism industry could lose almost 3 billion rubles (nearly $48 million) from the entry ban. The losses could grow tenfold if the ban isn’t lifted by the summer.

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Visa-free travel to China for M'sians extended till end of 2025, says envoy

Tuesday, 07 May 2024

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Visa-free China entry approved at all cruise ports, tourists allowed to stay for up to 15 days

Visa-free entry for overseas tour groups on cruise ships.

KUALA LUMPUR: Visa-free travel to China for Malaysian citizens has been extended until the end of 2025, says Ouyang Yujing.

The Chinese ambassador to Malaysia announced in his speech during the launch of the Malaysia-China Commemorative Forum on Tuesday (May 7).

"Just yesterday (Monday), Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in France that the visa-free policy for citizens from 12 countries, including Malaysia, to come to China will be extended until the end of 2025.

"This will further promote the exchange and cooperation in our two countries," he said.

On Monday (May 6), Xi said in France that China has decided to extend visa exemption entry for citizens from 12 countries on short-term visits to China until the end of 2025.

He made the announcement during the closing ceremony of the Sixth Meeting of China-France Business Council.

The 15-day visa-free policy would allow Malaysian citizens holding ordinary passports to enter China for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes.

China first announced on Nov 24 last year an earlier visa-free travel for six European countries and Malaysia until Nov 30, 2024.

Tags / Keywords: Visa-free , China , travel , Ouyang Yujing

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What travel restrictions is the EU imposing on Russians?

The bloc has made it harder and costlier for Russian nationals to enter, but members are divided on an outright travel ban.

Before the Ukraine war began, the European Union was a popular port of call for Russians.

Under the terms of a 2007 visa agreement brokered when ties were significantly warmer, they enjoyed preferential access to the bloc and could visit easily for tourism or business.

Keep reading

Should europe shelter russians fleeing mobilisation, finland to bar russians after putin’s mobilisation order, latvia says it will not welcome russians fleeing mobilisation, is the war in ukraine entering a new phase.

But since February 24, when Russia launched its invasion, border controls tightened as the Kremlin’s relations with Western nations sank to post-Cold War lows.

Within days, the EU banned flights to and from Russia.

As the war dragged on, the bloc went further.

In early September, it suspended the 2007 visa deal.

The cost of an individual visa rose from 35 euros ($34) to 80 euros ($77), and Russians would now be made to provide additional documents and face longer processing times.

On September 19, the Baltic States and Poland closed their doors to Russian tourists, and condemned Finland for not joining them. Days earlier, their governments had released a statement citing security concerns.

“There are persons coming with the aim of undermining the security of our countries, insofar as three-fourths of Russian citizens support Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine,” it said.

On September 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation, a move which sent thousands fearing the draft rushing to the borders to escape.

Most headed to Georgia and Kazakhstan, but some travelled towards Finland.

On September 30, Finland also banned Russian tourists, closing off the last direct route into the bloc.

The moves do not amount to an outright ban, but reflect the depth of deterioration in EU-Russia relations.

They also highlight divisions within the bloc – while those near Russia have taken action, others such as Germany and France say blanket restrictions feed into Moscow’s anti-Western narrative and risk estranging future generations of Russians.

Here is what you need to know:

What are the current EU-wide rules?

The EU imposed flight bans on February 27, meaning Russians would have to reach the bloc via third countries.

As the conflict intensified, discussions over further action became mired in disagreement.

More than six months later, EU leaders settled on suspending an historic visa facilitation agreement with Moscow, ending 15 years of privileged access for Russian nationals.

The 2007 visa deal had been agreed on when both sides expressed hope that smoother travel would contribute to a “steady development” of economic, humanitarian, cultural and scientific ties.

The visa application fee has risen and Russians must now produce additional documentation. The rules on issuing visas are tighter and processing times are longer.

However, Russian nationals can still technically access the EU via third countries and get 90-day short-stay visas, pending successful applications. They can also move freely within the majority of the Schengen Area once inside it.

Natia Seskuria, a Russia expert and associate fellow at the United Kingdom-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) think-tank, told Al Jazeera the suspension of the 2007 agreement had “not changed much in practicality”.

“So a lot of countries – especially the Baltic States [Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia] – have decided to act individually,” Seskuria said.

“This lack of consensus has driven European states into a bit of a chaotic situation because now there are … individual [national-level] bans against Russians, but there are also some countries that do business pretty much as usual, except that it has become harder for Russians to get visas,” she said.

What additional restrictions have some countries applied?

There are growing calls from Ukrainian leaders and those in the bloc’s east for an outright ban on Russian tourists.

Several member states have imposed additional travel restrictions themselves.

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland announced in September that they would bar entry to Russians holding Schengen Area tourist visas, with exemptions for those requiring humanitarian assistance or visiting family.

Other countries, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic, announced they would not issue humanitarian visas for men attempting to escape Moscow’s military draft.

These moves were informally green-lighted by the EU at a summit in Prague weeks earlier, with the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell acknowledging that “business as usual” could not continue for member states bordering Russia.

An outright travel ban “would be quite a radical decision, but … the times we are living in and what Ukrainians are experiencing now are very extreme,” Seskuria told Al Jazeera.

“There must be a sense of responsibility imposed upon the Russian citizens.

“And for the EU, if the borders are open [to Russians] they will get a lot of people [arriving] … who have voted for [President Vladimir] Putin and who will be happy if he wins the war in Ukraine but just don’t want to fight and risk their own lives.”

Which countries oppose stricter measures?

Two of the EU’s most powerful members, France and Germany, have opposed calls for a travel ban and continue to issue short-stay visas, in part to ensure Russian dissidents are provided an escape route.

Both have warned draconian measures could trigger “rally-around-the-flag” effects in Russia.

Even so, Russians are finding it harder to reach Europe after the EU declared on September 30 that members should not accept visa applications from those in a third country and as direct flights remain suspended.

Petr Tůma, a visiting fellow at the United States-based Atlantic Council think-tank’s Europe Center, told Al Jazeera a full tourist ban was a “long way away” given existing divisions.

But he predicted the likelihood of such a move would only increase the longer the conflict continues, and called on the EU to be ready to provide shelter to those who really need it.

“After more than half a year of war, even normal Russians have to assume some kind of responsibility … and may yet have to pay this very limited price,” Tuma said.

“But it is key that if the EU do ‘A’, the tourist visa ban, then they also have to do ‘B’ as well, and grant exceptions for people who need them, such as for the dissidents,” he added.

“We can’t close the door [completely] … this has to be done with some care.”

How many Russians have entered the EU since the war began?

It is not clear how many of those who have entered stayed in the EU, or where they remained if they did.

According to the bloc’s border agency Frontex, more than 1.4 million Russian citizens have entered the EU via its land borders since Moscow began its February 24 offensive. About the same number have also returned to Russia from the EU during the same period.

The similarity in the numbers suggests at least some of the trips may have been recreational – such as for tourism – rather than to resettle in the bloc.

Nearly 37 percent, more than 519,000, of the crossings from Russia were made into Finland, while about a quarter of those exiting the country for Europe, some 360,000, entered Estonia.

The number of overall crossings has dwindled in recent weeks after the EU tightened entry rules, member states bordering Russia imposed their own new restrictions, and as Russian authorities reportedly moved to block those attempting to flee the mobilisation drive.

According to the latest Frontex data, from October 10 – 16, 24,218 Russian citizens entered the EU. This is 1,400 fewer than the week before and less than half the overall figure recorded between September 26 – October 2. Most already had residence permits or visas, while others possessed dual citizenship.

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Russia Travel Advisory

Travel advisory september 5, 2023, russia - level 4: do not travel.

Updated to remove COVID-specific information and the kidnapping risk indicator as well as updates to security risks.

Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the  unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces , the potential for  harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials , the  arbitrary enforcement of local law ,  limited flights into and out of Russia , the  Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia , and the possibility of  terrorism .  U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately.  Exercise increased caution due to  the risk of wrongful detentions.

The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, due to Russian government limitations on travel for embassy personnel and staffing, and the ongoing suspension of operations, including consular services, at U.S. consulates.

There have been numerous reports of drone attacks, explosions, and fires in areas in Western and Southern Russia, particularly near the Russian border with Ukraine, as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the event of an emergency, U.S. citizens should follow instructions from local authorities and seek shelter immediately.

In September 2022, the Russian government mobilized citizens to the armed forces in support of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals’ U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, subject them to mobilization, prevent their departure from Russia, and/or conscript them. 

U.S. citizens should note that U.S. credit and debit cards no longer work in Russia, and options to electronically transfer funds from the United States are extremely limited due to sanctions imposed on Russian banks. There are reports of cash shortages within Russia.

Commercial flight options are extremely limited and are often unavailable on short notice. If you wish to depart Russia, you should make independent arrangements as soon as possible. The U.S. Embassy has severe limitations on its ability to assist U.S. citizens to depart the country and transportation options may suddenly become even more limited. Click  here  for Information for U.S. Citizens Seeking to Depart Russia.

U.S. Embassy personnel are generally not permitted to travel on Russian air carriers due to safety concerns.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded the air safety rating for Russia from Category 1 to Category 2 on April 21, 2022, due to Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport noncompliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) prohibiting U.S. aviation operations into, out of, within, or over those areas of the Moscow Flight Information Region (FIR), the Samara FIR (UWWW) and the Rostov-na-Donu (URRV) FIR within 160NM of the boundaries of the Dnipro (UKDV) Flight Information Regions. For more information, U.S. citizens should consult the  Federal Aviation Administration’s Prohibitions, Restrictions, and Notices .

The right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not consistently protected in Russia. U.S. citizens should avoid all political or social protests and not photograph security personnel at these events. Russian authorities have arrested U.S. citizens who have participated in demonstrations and there are numerous reports Russian nationals have been detained for social media activity. 

Country Summary:

U.S. citizens, including former and current U.S. government and military personnel and private citizens engaged in business who are visiting or residing in Russia, have been interrogated without cause and threatened by Russian officials, and may become victims of harassment, mistreatment, and extortion. 

Russian security services may fail to notify the U.S. Embassy of the detention of a U.S. citizen and unreasonably delay U.S. consular assistance. Russian security services are increasing the arbitrary enforcement of local laws to target foreign and international organizations they consider “undesirable.”

Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on spurious charges, singled out U.S. citizens in Russia for detention and harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them in secret trials or without presenting credible evidence. Furthermore, Russian authorities arbitrarily enforce local laws against U.S. citizen religious workers and have opened questionable criminal investigations against U.S. citizens engaged in religious activity. U.S. citizens should avoid travel to Russia to perform work for or volunteer with non-governmental organizations or religious organizations.

There have been multiple security incidents in southwestern Russia related to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government declared martial law in Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine (Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Rostov, Krasnodar) on October 20, 2022. The martial law regime allows the rapid introduction of restrictive measures such as curfew, seizure of private property, restriction of entry/exit and freedom of movement, internment of foreigners, forced relocation of local residents, and restrictions on public gatherings. U.S. citizens should avoid all travel to these areas.

Recent legislation has expanded the ability of Russian authorities to detain, question, and arrest individuals suspected of acting against Russia’s interests, including posts on personal social media accounts, engaging with foreign and international entities, discrediting the Russian state or military, as well as advocating for the rights of LGBTQI+ persons.

Terrorist groups, both transnational and local terrorist organizations, and individuals inspired by extremist ideology continue plotting possible attacks in Russia. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs and systems, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas. Travel to the North Caucasus (including Chechnya and Mt. Elbrus) is prohibited for U.S. government employees and strongly discouraged for U.S. citizens.

The international community, including the United States and Ukraine, does not recognize Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea as well as four other Ukrainian oblasts – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya – that Russia has purported to annex more recently. There is extensive Russian Federation military presence in these areas. Russia staged its further invasion of Ukraine, in part, from occupied Crimea, and Russia is likely to take further military actions in Crimea, and the four other Ukrainian oblasts are the subject of intensive fighting. There are continuing abuses against foreigners and the local population by the occupation authorities in these regions, particularly against those who are seen as challenging Russia’s authority.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv continues to provide consular services to U.S. citizens in Crimea as well as four other Ukrainian oblasts partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya, although the ongoing conflict severely restricts the Embassy’s ability to provide services in these areas.

Read the  country information page  for additional information on travel to Russia.

If you decide to travel to Russia:

• Familiarize yourself with the information on  what the U.S. government can and cannot do to assist you in a crisis overseas .
• Have a contingency plan in place that does not rely on U.S. government assistance. Review the  Traveler’s Checklist .
• Monitor local and international media for breaking events and adjust your contingency plans based on the new information.
• Ensure travel documents are valid and easily accessible.
• Visit our website for  Travel to High-Risk Areas .
• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on  Facebook  and  Twitter .
• Review the  Country Security Report  for Russia.
• Visit the CDC page for the latest  Travel Health Information  related to your travel.

Travel Advisory Levels

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