China Warns Citizens Of U.S. Gun Violence

The China-USA trade spat is spilling over into tourism.

The Chinese government is warning its citizens about travelling to the U.S., warning of gun violence and general harassment.

In the most recent statement from Beijing, the government of China said US law enforcement has been “repeatedly harassing” Chinese nationals.

“Recently, US law enforcement agencies have repeatedly harassed Chinese nationals travelling to the US through border interrogations, drop-in visits and various other means,” wrote China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its official social media site today (Tuesday).

Also today, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a travel warning that “recently, gun shootings, robberies and thefts have occurred frequently in the United States."

Speaking at the IPW travel and tourism conference in Anaheim, U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Roger Dow said he's concerned about the issue.

"The policy debate is outside our area but what we believe in is security, safety is so important and there is literally nowhere in the US that I wouldn’t take my family or recommend to anyone else," Dow said. "That said, all solutions have to be on the table for this."

"We track why people may not come to the United States and the number one reason is the strength of the dollar or cost," he said. "Creeping up to number two or three is concern over crime. This issue is critical and we have to address it. I don’t have the solution but it’s something that’s on the table to figure out.

"This is a dialogue that we have a lot," Dow said. "Visitation from China is basically slipped by about 200,000 from about 3.2 million to 3 million, but we’ve also seen a similar slip in Japan and South Korea because people are quick to say it’s a trade war. But we’re starting to be concerned, we’re watching the most recent announcement is that type of trade. We’re saying to the government, let’s get this trade thing behind us fast, because travel is trade and it’s so important to get this behind us.

"We’re watching it, we’re monitoring it we’re having a very loud voice that travel should not be used as a weapon."

The U.S. and China have been fighting a trade war for some time as the U.S. weighs whether to allow China’s Huawei to be part of 5G technology in the United States. That issue spilled over into Canada with the detention of a prominent Huawei official by Canadian authorities, followed by the arrest of two Canadian citizens.

On Monday of this week, Chinese authorities issued a warning to Chinese students and professors; telling them it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get US visas. The government also cautioned parents in China about sending their kids to study in the U.S. given the societal risks.

There are report that executives at major Chinese companies have recently been blocked from entering the U.S. because of visa complications.