China is warning its citizens to avoid traveling to the United States due to ‘frequent cases of shootings’

Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

• China on Tuesday warned its citizens to avoid traveling to the United States.
• State-controlled media reported the move was in response to violence and shootings in the US.
• The warning comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries, centered around the tech giant Huawei.
• THE TECH COLD WAR: Everything that’s happened in the new China-US tech conflict involving Google, Huawei, Apple, and Trump

The Chinese government on Tuesday warned its citizens to avoid traveling to the United States, citing frequent shootings, robberies, and theft.

The state-controlled China News Service said the warning is valid through the end of the year, and urged travelers to take safety precautions.

"The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China released a safety reminder for Chinese tourists traveling to the United States on the 4th," CNS reported.

"Recently, there have been frequent cases of shootings, robberies and thefts in the United States. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to fully assess the risk of travel to the United States, timely understanding of tourist destination policing, laws and regulations and other information, and effectively improve awareness of safety precautions to ensure peace. This reminder is valid until December 31, 2019."

While the move is likely political in nature, shootings in the United States occur at rates well above most other countries, developed and decveloping, around the world. According to analysis by the Washington Post, there have been 163 mass shootings since 1966, in which 5,687 people have been killed. 

Tech cold war

The warning comes amid heightened trade tensions between the US and China. The two countries are locked in a tech "cold war" centered around Huawei, one of China’s largest and most prominent tech firms which is also a major supplier of communications equipment to the US.

Last week, China was preparing to respond to the US’s decision to blacklist Huawei, according to the editor of one of the country’s state media outlets.

Hu Xijin, editor of the tabloid newspaper Global Times, wrote on Twitter: "China will take major retaliative measures against the US placing Huawei and other Chinese companies on Entity List."

The US previously added Huawei to the Entity List— a list of companies US businesses need a license to trade with — on May 16, saying it is "involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States." Another 140 Chinese companies were also added to the list. China claims Huawei is independent of the government.

Bill Bostock contributed to this post.

Now read:

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Source: Business Insider – grapier@businessinsider.com (Graham Rapier)