Forward of the China Summit, U.S. Travel Warning Ought to Match Beijing’s Actions

By Diane Foley, President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation

Americans who journey overseas depend upon clear warnings earlier than hazard turns into private. I do know what it means to attend, plead, and hope after a cherished one is taken abroad. In 2014, after my son, American journalist James Foley, was kidnapped and murdered by ISIS whereas reporting in Syria, I established the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation to assist make sure that Americans perceive the dangers they face overseas and to advocate for individuals who are unjustly detained. That is why I’m involved that the present U.S. journey advisory for China doesn’t totally replicate the dangers created by China’s personal actions: arbitrary detention, coercive exit bans, and the wrongful detention of Americans. The Foley Foundation’s analysis and the instances of Min Zin and Dr. Youlin Chen present why the U.S. ought to think about elevating the journey advisory stage except Beijing releases each American it unjustly holds and ends its use of arbitrary detention and coercive exit bans.

China has an extended historical past of detaining Americans, but the general public warning doesn’t totally replicate that document. Foley Foundation analysis exhibits that since 1998, China has unjustly detained extra Americans than Russia—42 versus 17—and has held them for a median of just about 5 years, in contrast with averages of two.5 years for Russia and 1.5 years for Iran.[1] Yet Russia and Iran carry Level 4, “Do Not Travel” advisories and “D” indicators highlighting the chance of wrongful detention, whereas China stays at Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution.”[2],[3] Too many Americans contemplating journey to China might not acknowledge that they may face arbitrary detention, coercive exit bans, or unjust imprisonment. After China launched Pastor David Lin, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung in 2024, the U.S. State Department eliminated the “D” wrongful-detention indicator from China’s journey advisory, explaining that it not assessed any Americans as wrongfully detained in China.[4] However, China continues to focus on and wrongfully detain U.S. nationals, demonstrating that Beijing has not modified course. Travel warnings ought to replicate present realities, not previous successes. As U.S. and Chinese leaders put together to fulfill, that actuality deserves consideration.

Today, the Foley Foundation assesses that at the very least 12 Americans are unjustly held in China. Dr. Youlin Chen, a seismologist from Massachusetts, and Min Zin, a U.C. Berkeley Ph.D. candidate, had been detained in 2024 and 2026, respectively. Both had been accused of espionage tied to their tutorial work. Dr. Chen was detained whereas visiting household; Mr. Zin was detained after being falsely lured to China to attend a tutorial convention. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated each males as “wrongfully detained,” [5][6] reflecting the U.S. authorities’s conclusion that their imprisonment was not the results of a professional legal course of.

If students and guests can develop into victims of wrongful detention, Americans deserve journey steering that plainly displays that danger. Given China’s current actions and the specter of illegal detention they pose to Americans, now could be the time for the State Department to reassess its journey advisory for China.

Travel advisories usually are not diplomatic rewards or punishments; they need to truthfully replicate the dangers Americans face. If Beijing needs to encourage better journey, tutorial trade, enterprise engagement, and people-to-people ties with the United States, it ought to exhibit by its actions that Americans won’t face arbitrary detention, wrongful imprisonment, or coercive exit bans. Until then, U.S. vacationers deserve steering that displays the realities China itself has created. Having lived by James’s kidnapping and homicide overseas, I urge President Trump to press for the discharge of each single American unjustly held in China and to make sure that U.S. journey steering displays the true dangers Americans might face when touring there.

Having lived by James’s kidnapping and homicide overseas, I urge President Trump to press for the discharge of each single American unjustly held in China and to make sure that U.S. journey steering displays the true dangers Americans might face when touring there.

[1] Based on a database maintained by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. This database consists of coercive exit ban instances.

[2] U.S. Department of State. Russian Federation Travel Advisory . December 29, 2025.

[3] U.S. Department of State. Islamic Republic of Iran Travel Advisory . December 5, 2025.

[4] The Hill. Sarah Fortinsky, “State Department downgrades travel advisory for China,” Nov. 27, 2024.

[5] U.S. Department of State. “Statement from Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson on Wrongful Detention Designation for U.S. Citizen Min Zin.” News launch. August 20, 2026.

[6] Reuters. Jonathan Landay, “China detains U.S. seismologist who has studied North Korean nuclear tests.” July 13, 2026 (up to date July 14, 2026). Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Dr. Youlin Chen as “wrongfully detained” on March 19, 2026.