Trump travel ban on citizens from 12 countries leaves arch rivals China and Russia out

The citizens of China and Russia, the two countries which threaten the US hegemony in technology and military power, have free access to America. Even as US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, June 4, announced a complete travel ban on people entering the United States from 12 countries, he did not mention China and Russia.

In an executive order signed by Trump, he has also implemented a partial ban on several other countries. The citizens of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen will not be allowed to enter the US from Monday. The fresh travel restrictions are set to come into effect from June 9, 2025.

Trump’s latest order bans travelers from 12 countries over security concerns, but the list leaves out Russia and China even as they have on multiple occasions warned the US of grave consequences if pushed to the corner using military power. Even though Trump is frequently seen threatening both countries with more tariffs and sanctions, they are not included in this travel ban.


In a video posted on X by the White House, Trump announced the travel ban and cited the recent attack in Colorado where a man was accused in an attack on a group of demonstrators who gathered on Sunday, June 1, in support of Israeli hostages.

He said that it illustrates the "extreme dangers" of foreign nationals entering the US without being "properly vetted".

Trump’s big moves against countries

After returning to power in 2025, Trump has gone about some serious business and signed around 150 executive orders ranging from law enforcement, immigration to education and healthcare. The orders also included the one which called for imposing higher tariffs on goods imported into the US.

Trump’s threats to China and Russia

For instance, back in 2020, during his first presidency term, when the world was reeling under the impact of Covid 19, Trump blamed China several times for the pandemic and called on Beijing to be punished for how it handled the disease. Besides this, Trump has accused Beijing for trade violations, technology and security threats. But he never banned people from China from travelling to the US.

In May 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio took a swipe at China, saying the US is confronting the Chinese Communist Party's influence globally and ending the era of allowing it to abuse trade practices, steal US technology, and flood the country with fentanyl. Despite all the blame game, Trump never stopped Chinese nationals from entering the US.

As far as Russia is concerned, after assuming office, Trump has been seen making serious efforts to intervene between Russia and China to ensure a ceasefire between the war-torn countries.

The US President has blamed Moscow majorly for escalating the war in Ukraine through a massive drone and missile attack. He has also lashed out at Putin for being “totally unserious” about peace talks and refusing to end the conflict.

Trump has resorted to similar ploys in Russia’s case as those in China’s. He has repeatedly warned of “devastating” new sanctions and tariffs. He even proposed a 500% tariff on countries that buy Russian energy - if they don’t agree to a ceasefire. He has repeatedly said that he can mount more sanctions but has never shown any intentions of banning Russian nationals