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China travel
ChinaPolitics

China’s expanding travel curbs are cutting off more state workers from the rest of the world

  • Workers in the state sector and beyond face stiffer overseas travel barriers as authorities try to reduce corruption and spying risks
  • Experts say tightened grip on private travel is at odds with Beijing’s post-pandemic narrative of improving people-to-people foreign exchanges

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Sylvie Zhuangin BeijingandJun Maiin Beijing

In 2011, Matthew, then a junior official in one of China’s most powerful finance ministries, treated himself and his bride to a two-week honeymoon at the resort destination of Maui, in the Hawaiian islands.

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Near the end of their stay, he assured his new wife that they would travel to a different country each year to celebrate their special day, a promise he would never be able to keep.

Ten years later, Matthew, whose full name is not being disclosed due to the sensitivity of the issue, would find himself among tens of millions of incumbent and retired personnel in China’s vast state-funded organizations – including government agencies, state-owned enterprises, financial institutes, and leadership at universities and hospitals – who are being hindered from travelling abroad, even during their time off.

While it was not uncommon a decade ago for Matthew and other Chinese officials like him to travel abroad for leisure, their counterparts in 2024 are under much tighter travel restrictions, where Hawaiian honeymoons are out of the question.

Matthew’s promotions over the past few years have not helped to satisfy his wanderlust, because in China, when officials like him ascend the ranks, restrictions on activities like travel become tighter.

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