China urges travelers to avoid Seattle airport after 20 scholars were denied entry to the US

SEATTLE — Chinese government officials are encouraging travelers to be wary and avoid entering the United States through Seattle, citing a pattern of continual harassment by U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel.

About 20 Chinese scholars with visas flew through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recently to attend an academic conference, but China Consular Affairs said in a post on X that the academics were “unreasonably inspected” by CBP personnel and refused entry.

Emails seeking more information and comment were sent Thursday to spokespersons for the federal agency, the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and its consulate in San Francisco.

Since Chinese scholars have been continuously harassed at the airport, the foreign ministry and the embassy urged citizens with plans to visit the U.S. to do so with a mindset of safety and security and to avoid the Seattle airport, the post said.

The foreign ministry also urged travelers from China to become versed with U.S. entry regulations and be prepared.

“If you encounter questioning from U.S. enforcement personnel, you should deal with it calmly and rationally,” according to a translation of the tweet.

Seattle ranked as the sixth largest metro area in the nation for Chinese population in 2019 with about 166,000 residents, according to the Pew Research Center.