US Says China Travel Risks Are ‘Not Hypothetical’ After Americans Detained

The Trump administration has issued a fresh warning that Americans living in or visiting China risk “unjust arrest or detention.”

“The risks outlined in the China Travel Advisory are not hypothetical,” the office of the president’s special envoy for hostage affairs wrote on social media on Sept. 9.

Two American scholars, Chen Youlin and U Min Zin, who traveled to China for academic and professional reasons, have been wrongfully detained, the office said, reiterating a call for their release.

“Hostage diplomacy has no place in the U.S.-China relationship,” it stated.

The State Department website last week updated its travel advisory to China, adding an explicit warning of “the risk of unjust arrest or detention.” It also included a phrase stating Beijing’s use of exit bans lacks “a fair and transparent process under the law.”

CCP ‘Can Read Your Emails’

Among the newly added paragraphs is a warning about the lack of privacy in private communication.

“Assume that China’s security services can read your emails, texts, and social media posts if you send them to or from China,” the travel advisory stated.

U.S. citizens have already been alerted to the risk of detention or deportation for sending private messages critical of Beijing or the city governments of Hong Kong and Macau. The new warning highlighted that there are cases of detentions over messages sent from outside China.

“Assume they can also read your messages if you use Chinese apps, even when you are in another country, including the United States.”

For American academics, the State Department cautioned that the CCP controls all universities and schools across the country.

“If foreign teachers or students in China express ideas contrary to what the Communist Party believes, they could be deported or detained,” the new advisory stated.

The Yayang church is covered in scaffolding in Yayang township, Wenzhou city, in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Jan. 9, 2026. Residents and rights groups say there have been multiple arrests as a national clampdown on unofficial Christian organizations grows. (Rebecca Bailey/AFP via Getty Images) — The Yayang church is covered in scaffolding in Yayang township, Wenzhou city, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on Jan. 9, 2026. Residents and rights groups say there have been multiple arrests as a national clampdown on unofficial Christian organizations grows. Rebecca Bailey/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. government noted that foreigners’ religious activities in China are tightly managed by Beijing. It included a new section reminding Americans of the risks if they wish to join collective religious services, transport religious materials, or proselytize in the country.

Detention, Exit Ban

The new travel advisory highlighted that Chinese law has “an expansive definition of national security,” giving authorities a lot of freedom to determine which documents or information are “state secrets.”

“These laws and other regulations may place foreign nationals at risk for conducting routine research or handling data that is publicly or commercially available to Chinese nationals,” the warning stated. “U.S. citizens in China may face detention without information about their alleged crimes or access to U.S. consular services.”

The update came after the State Department designated Min Zin, accused by Beijing of espionage, as wrongfully detained in China.

Min Zin, who co-founded a think tank focused on Burma, also known as Myanmar, was arrested on June 3 in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, where he was invited by the Chinese authorities to attend an academic conference.

U Min Zin, a researcher who studies Burma, also known as Myanmar, in a file photo. (Courtesy of ISP-Myanmar) — U Min Zin, a researcher who studies Burma, also known as Myanmar, in a file photo. Courtesy of ISP-Myanmar

Another U.S. citizen wrongfully held by the Chinese regime was Chen, a Chinese-born seismologist who has been detained for nearly two years without a trial. The authorities charged Chen with espionage, but rights advocates say Beijing targeted him for his research on U.S. government-funded projects.

The new travel advisory identified specific groups that may become targets of the communist regime, including those of Chinese heritage or origin, involved in business disputes with local companies, or currently or previously connected to U.S. law enforcement, the U.S. military, U.S. intelligence agencies, or other government agencies. Individuals who traveled on U.S. government-funded programs are also advised of risks of being targeted by Beijing.

The State Department revealed in July 2025 that Beijing imposed an exit ban on a U.S. citizen who works for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, an agency under the Commerce Department. No public updates have been given since then.

In light of the catastrophic floods at the China-Nepal border last month, Americans in Tibet are alerted that they may receive only limited consular services from the U.S. government as Beijing “severely restricted” U.S. consular officers from traveling to the region.

A man affixes a photo of a missing relative on a wall covered with photographs of people reported missing after the recent floods in the Himalayan valley along the Nepal-Tibet border, inside the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sept. 8, 2026. (Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images) — A man affixes a photo of a missing relative on a wall covered with photographs of people reported missing after the recent floods in the Himalayan valley along the Nepal-Tibet border, inside the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sept. 8, 2026. Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

The current travel advisory maintains a Level 2 warning for mainland China and Hong Kong, which asks Americans to exercise “increased caution.”

U.S. citizens are advised to “reconsider travel” to Macau, due to similar travel restrictions imposed by Beijing.

Neda Sharghi, whose brother endured five years of wrongful detention in Iran, called the message from Trump’s top hostage envoy “particularly timely” ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s forthcoming visit to Washington.

Aside from Chen and Min Zin, she highlighted that Beijing had also jailed Gao Zhen, a prominent artist and U.S. permanent resident.

A Chinese court in August handed down a three-year jail term to Gao, accusing him of insulting “heroes and martyrs” over the artwork he crafted in the early 2000s—a ruling that drew criticism from international human rights groups and the U.S. State Department.

Since Gao’s arrest in mid-2024, Chinese authorities have barred Gao’s wife—also a U.S. permanent resident—and their son, a U.S. citizen, from leaving China.

The House Select Committee on China said on X that the CCP has demonstrated its willingness to use “arbitrary detention and exit bans to target Americans in China.”

“Americans should take these warnings seriously,” it said on Sept. 10.

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