U.S. eases China travel advisory after 3 detained Americans are released

The State Department downgraded its travel advisory for China on Wednesday after the release of three U.S. citizens who had been held in the country for years.

HONG KONG — The State Department eased its travel advisory for China after the release of three U.S. citizens who had been detained in the country for years.

The travel advisory for China is now at Level 2, “exercise increased caution,” putting it at the same level as France and Germany. The alert had previously been at Level 3, the second-highest level, advising Americans to reconsider travel to China partly because of “the risk of wrongful detentions,” according to the guidance issued on Wednesday

The language about wrongful detentions has been removed in the updated advisory.

The update comes after the Biden administration earlier announced that it had secured the release of three Americans who had spent years in Chinese detention: Kai Li, Mark Swidan and John Leung.

A U.S. government official said Wednesday that Li, Swidan and Leung were released in exchange for Chinese nationals detained in the U.S., including Xu Yanjun, an officer of China’s Ministry of State Security who was accused of trying to steal technology from an American aircraft engine supplier, and Ji Chaoqun, who was accused of spying for the Chinese government. Officials said the deal had been in the works for months.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/us-eases-china-travel-advisory-americans-released-rcna182116

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