Exclusive: State Department warns travelers to China they risk “wrongful detention”

State cites “serious risk” as Trump plans China trip. The State Department is updating its travel advisory for mainland China to include an increased risk level for wrongful detention, according to a new plan seen by Semafor. The State Department’s move comes after two US citizens were labeled as wrongfully detained earlier this year, and at a complex moment in the relationships between the two most powerful countries in the world. Despite a personally warm relationship between the presidents, the countries’ deep differences from the Taiwan Strait to trade to artificial intelligence remain. A person familiar with the situation told Semafor the department’s change is connected to the continued detentions of the two Americans, Min Zin and Youlin Chen. Zin is a Myanmar scholar who was detained in June and accused of endangering China’s national security. Chen is a seismologist detained in 2024 and charged with espionage. Both are US citizens. The travel advisory as a whole remains at a Level 2, which urges Americans to “Exercise Increased Caution” when traveling to China, but the department is adding a “D” risk indicator for wrongful detention. Previously, the travel advisory for main