Since then, China has made it easier for Americans to visit. This includes faster, simpler and cheaper visa processing, especially for students, as well as discounted flights on national carriers. China’s consulates around the United States, along with China-based institutions, have mobilised to facilitate the movement of people and meet the high-level targets set.

There have already been some dividends. One year on, Beijing says that about 14,000 young Americans have made it to mainland China. Overall numbers of American visitors are not available, but all indications point to an improvement since the downturn experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, though they remain a fraction of 2019 figures.

In November, China released a handful of American detainees and Uygurs as part of a deal to get the warning lowered from “reconsider travel” to simply “exercise increased caution”. There are no longer Americans “wrongfully detained” in China, according to the White House’s National Security Council, though it notes that Americans may still be subject to exit bans.