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US and China, Dueling Travel Advisories

Written by Subject: China

US and China, Dueling Travel Advisories

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Both nations warned their nationals about travel hazards, heightening tensions more than already. See Below.

Growing US hostility toward China shows up in many ways, the relationship at a crossroads since Nixon went to the country in 1972, followed by accords signed by Jimmy Carter and Deng Xiaoping in January 1979. 

Decades of US hostility toward the country softened short of normalizing relations — what doesn't exist between Washington and nations it doesn't control.

Obama's Asia pivot to advance America's military footprint in a part of the world not its own to challenge and contain China, along with Trump's trade and tariffs war, worsened Sino/US relations — risking confrontation if things deteriorate beyond a point of no return.

US rage to dominate the Indo-Pacific region forced Beijing to prepare for war despite wanting peace and stability, not conflict with the US or other countries.

President Xi Jinping ordered the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to "step up (its) combat readiness" in the face of a growing US threat.

Beijing's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe earlier said "China will take decisive steps regardless of the cost to preserve its territorial integrity and repel attempts to separate Taiwan from the country."

China considers the island state its sovereign territory. It calls incursions by US warships into the Taiwan Strait provocative – the 110 mile-wide waterway separating Taiwan from the mainland.

Senior Chinese officials expressed concern about growing threats to the country's security because of hostile Trump regime actions. 

Xi earlier said Beijing must prepare for a "worst-case situation" because of deteriorating relations with the US, unresolved trade differences the tip of the iceberg — China's growing economic, industrial, technological, and military might a far greater issue with Washington.

In January, the State Department issued a China travel advisory, saying the following:

"Exercise increased caution in China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws as well as special restrictions on dual US-Chinese nationals," adding:

"Chinese authorities have asserted broad authority to prohibit US citizens from leaving China by using 'exit bans,' sometimes keeping US citizens in China for years. China uses exit bans coercively."

In May, the State Department said "(i)n China…travelers may be detained and/or deported for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," adding: 

"(M)ost of those detentions don't manifest themselves until a traveler is exiting the country and without access to US consular services."

Days earlier, China's Education Ministry urged students and academics to "raise their risk assessment" because of an increase in visa delays and denials to Chinese students who applied to study in the US, adding:

"For a period of time now, some Chinese students in the US have faced situations where their visas were restricted, the visa review period was extended, the period of validity was shortened, or (their applications) were rejected."

The following day, China's  Ministry of Culture and Tourism warned its nationals traveling to the US about restrictive security, laws, regulations, and safety concerns, citing shootings, robberies and theft, along with deteriorating bilateral relations.

In 2018, Chinese visitors to the US declined for the first time in many years, down nearly 6% year-over-year because of increasing US hostility toward the country.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang warned about restrictive US actions, including revocation of Chinese visas on the phony pretext of involvement in espionage and other fabricated reasons.

On Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry slammed Mike Pompeo's false narrative about a June 1989  Tiananmen Square massacre that didn't happen.

Violent protesters were responsible for what happened, not soldiers. The fictitious narrative persists in the West, demonizing China the way all sovereign nations the US doesn't control are treated.

Thirty-year-ago events in Tiananmen Square were orchestrated to destabilize China. Protests were over bread and butter issues.

Pompeo lied calling them "peaceful." He lied saying "demonstrations call(ed) for democracy, human rights, and an end to rampant corruption."

He lies about all nations refusing to bend to Washington's will, along with falsely claiming the US is an "open, (democratic and) tolerant society." Polar opposite is true.

Because of its sovereign independence and growing stature as a world power, US hostility toward China is all about wanting the country contained, weakened, and isolated.

The same strategy is used against Russia and other nations the US doesn't control.

On Wednesday, Trump threatened to impose US tariffs on all Chinese imports, saying if things don't go the way he demands, he'll "do that at the right time."

Separately, talks between Trump regime and Mexican officials on Wednesday failed to get Trump to  step back from his threat to impose 5% tariffs on $350 billion worth of the country's imports.

They'll increase to 25% by October if its authorities don't halt the flow unwanted alien refugees and asylum seekers to the US, what they're not responsible for.

Trump's tariffs wars threaten to adversely affect the global economy if persist without resolution. 

Ahead of US November 2020 elections, his counterproductive policies may halt growth and produce recession, making him a one-term president if Dems capitalize on his ineptness.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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