China warns its travellers to US

ADVISORY: TOURISTS TOLD SECURITY IS NOT GOOD

Apart from natural disasters, the Chinese may be targeted by officials or thieves.

Beijing

China’s embassy in Washington has issued a security advisory to Chinese nationals travelling to the US, the latest such warning as trade tensions escalate.

The embassy warned Chinese tourists to be aware of issues, including expensive medical bills, the threats of public shootings and robberies, searches and seizures by customs agents, telecommunications fraud and natural disasters.

“Public security in the United States is not good. Cases of shootings, robberies and theft are frequent,” the embassy said in the alert on its website. “Travellers in the United States should be alert to their surroundings and suspicious individuals and avoid going out alone at night.”

Aside from an additional warning about the risk of natural disasters, the advisory was similar to one the embassy posted in January.

Tensions are high between the two countries over the threat of tariffs.

Donald Trump’s administration is set to impose tariffs on $34 billion (R465 billion) worth of additional goods from China on Friday, citing unfair Chinese trade practices, and has threatened successive waves of duties on up to $450 billion in Chinese imports.

China has vowed to retaliate in kind with its own tariffs on US agricultural products and other goods, and to take more “qualitative” measures if Trump escalates the conflict.

China’s foreign ministry, when asked if the timing of the alert was politically motivated, said on Tuesday the summer was the high season for Chinese going to the US and that Chinese embassies had an obligation to warn citizens about potential risks abroad.

“This kind of reminder from the Chinese embassy in the relevant country, I think this is absolutely in the scope of our duty,” ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a regular news briefing.

There was little mention of the latest alert on Chinese social media.

China frequently issues travel warnings.

But some foreign governments have argued Beijing uses other means, such as curtailing outbound tourism, to settle political or trade scores. – Reuters