I think you might be mixing up the policy with Ukraine’s.
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No its not a mix up. Its a Xi Jinping policy.
Sorry! I misunderstood you, I was addressing Russia’s policy, while you were addressing China’s. I don’t know much about Chinese citizens’ right to travel, but it makes sense. Most Communist powers have or have had restrictions on exit of their citizens. This history is why Russia explicitly enshrined the absolute right to enter and exit Russia into their post-Communist constitution. Even people who work with state secrets have to explicitly sign away the right to exit as part of agreeing to be a holder of those secrets.