US issues China travel warning about ‘arbitrary’ law enforcement, amid tensions over arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou
- The updated travel advisory follows the detention over the past month of two Canadians in China, which accused them of harming China’s security
- Dual citizens and Americans of Chinese heritage were warned that they faced higher risks
The US State Department issued a warning on Thursday that officials in China “have asserted broad authority” to prevent US citizens from leaving the country and to beware of “arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”
The travel advisory follows the detention last month of two Canadians in China, which has accused them of harming China’s security. Those detentions occurred days after Canadian police arrested Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States.
The new State Department warning also follows the arrest of several Chinese nationals in the US on charges of espionage. They include Hongjin Tan, who was arrested on December 20 and charged with stealing trade secrets from the American petroleum company that employed him.
The US Justice Department announced on the same day criminal indictments against two accused hackers associated with the Chinese government. Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong, who the US say acted on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), were charged with conspiracy to hack into a dozen companies and government agencies in the US and around the world.
Detentions of individuals on both sides, based on allegations of espionage and national security, have become the newest front among many confrontations in the US-China relationship.