Beijing has warned Chinese citizens not to travel to the United States, in what analysts said is a political move that will worsen already heightened tensions between the two powers.
In a travel advisory released on Monday, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism cautioned against visiting the US, citing its "overreaction" to the coronavirus outbreak and the "unfair treatment" Chinese tourists received in the country. "Do not travel to the US," the ministry said in a notice.
This appeared to be a direct response to Washington's decision nearly a month ago to deny entry to foreigners who have been to China within the past 14 days.
Since the outbreak, more than 60 countries have imposed some form of travel restrictions on people from China. But Beijing appeared to be particularly offended by the US, which was among the first to act.
Chinese diplomats, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, have repeatedly criticized the US, accusing it of setting "a bad example" for other countries.
Experts and industry insiders said Beijing's move was largely politically motivated and might not have much impact given the harsh travel restrictions already in place.
"To be fair, it is a symbolic move because even if people might still want to go, the US has already imposed strict travel restrictions on Chinese visitors and suspended regular visa services in mainland China that effectively render such travel plans unfeasible," said Pang Zhongying, a Beijing-based international affairs analyst.
China's move "smacks of Cold War rhetoric and will inevitably fuel tensions between the two countries," Pang said.
China was the fifth-biggest source of tourists to the United States in 2017.
But the number of visitors from China fell 5.7% to 2.9 million in 2018 for the first time since 2003, largely due to the spiraling trade tensions and China's economic slowdown, according to US government data.
Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.