Monitoring Desk
BEIJING: China called the mounting international Covid related restrictions on travellers from China’s territory “unacceptable” on Tuesday after several countries placed fresh Covid restrictions on visitors from the most populous nation of the world.
The United States (US), Canada, France, and Japan are among the countries making it mandatory for all travellers from China are required to provide negative Covid tests before arrival, as worries grow over a surge in Covid cases.
China’s steep increase in infections comes after Beijing abruptly lifted strict restrictions last month, with crematoriums and hospitals quickly overwhelmed.
But China has pushed ahead with a long-awaited mass re-opening, last week announcing an end to mandatory quarantines on arrival in a bid that prompted Chinese people to plan foreign trips.
Targeting only Chinese travellers
“Some nations have taken entry curbs targeting only Chinese travellers,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.
“This lacks scientific basis, and these practices are unacceptable,” the spokesperson added. She warned China could “take counter steps based on the reciprocity principle.”
Regarding China’s reaction, the Prime Minister of France, Elisabeth Borne, defended the new policies.
“I think we are performing our duty in asking for Covid tests,” Borne said. “We will continue with the new rules.”
The rules imposed affect all travellers from China — not only Chinese nationals — while Beijing continues to restrict incoming visitors and not issue visas for international students or tourists.
Countries, including the US, have also reported Beijing’s lack of transparency around Covid infection data and the threat of new variants as a reason to impose restrictions on travellers.
China has recorded only 22 related Covid deaths since December 2022 and has dramatically narrowed the criteria for categorizing such deaths — meaning that China’s own statistics about the unprecedented Covid wave are now broadly seen as not reflecting reality.
As health workers countrywide battle a surge in cases, a senior doctor at one of the top hospitals of Shanghai said 70 percent of the city’s population may now have been infected with Covid-19, state media reported Tuesday.
