China has issued a travel advisory on the U.S. through the end of the year. The country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism cited recent “frequent” shootings, robbery and theft as the main reasons for its alert. No further details or statistics were provided.
“Recently, U.S. law enforcement agencies have repeatedly harassed Chinese citizens visiting the United States through exit and entry inspections, door-to-door interviews and other means,” state-run China Central Television reported Tuesday, citing the foreign ministry.
“The foreign ministry and Chinese embassies and consulates in the United States remind Chinese citizens and Chinese-funded institutions in the United States to raise security awareness and take more precautions,” it said.
China’s foreign ministry also advised travelers last October that U.S. customs enforcement officers had the right to check their belongings such as bags, electronic devices and autos without a search warrant.
Chinese tourism to the U.S. has been on a delcine recently, even before the travel advisoty. Three million Chinese tourists traveled to the U.S. in 2018, down from 3.2 million the previous year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, which collects data from U.S. customs forms. But Chinese citizens are still the biggest spenders by nationality. They spent $36.4 billion in 2018, up from $35.3 billion the year before.