A hotel in the Chinese city of Shenzhen plans to charge its US guests an extra 25 percent amid a trade war between Beijing and Washington.
The Modern Classic Hotel Group in Shenzhen had put up a notice at its hotel informing guests of extra charge on American guests.
People answering the phone on Friday at numbers on the website of the hotel said they were unaware of this extra charge policy. There are three staff members who declined to be identified told that a discriminatory rate policy had indeed been posted at the hotel as of Thursday but had since been removed.
There has been little public evidence to date of anti-American activity in China as the trade dispute has grown increasingly bitter.
The U.S. and China each imposed a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of the other’s goods on July 6, which made the trade tensions.
The Chinese public sentiment towards the US is becoming more sensitive after Washington’s latest tariff threats.
The Chinese government issued strict guidelines to its media barring personal attacks on US President Donald Trump and limiting open commentary, an apparent attempt to avoid unintentional escalation.
The authorities were also censoring potentially sensitive items on social media such as Weibo, China’s social media-like service, where trade-related items have been mostly kept off the list of top trending topics.
There have been signs of Chinese citizens taking matters into their hands, however: a picture of a sign at a restaurant serving Hunan cuisine informing US tourists of an extra 25 percent charge circulated on domestic and international social media. The origin of the photo could not immediately be confirmed.
The official Chinese statements this week have taken a sharper tone, accusing the United States of “bullying” and starting the trade war.
