China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called “simply irrational” the imposition of restrictions on Chinese travelers in response to the country’s explosion of Covid cases. According to Beijing diplomacy, the decision adopted by at least 16 nations, such as the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Israel, has no scientific basis.
“We are willing to improve communication with the world,” said spokeswoman Mao Ning during a press conference on Tuesday (3). “But we firmly oppose attempts to manipulate epidemic prevention and control measures for political purposes, and we will take corresponding measures in different situations in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.”
In early December, China ended Covid zero, a restrictive health policy based on mandatory mass testing and severe lockdowns where cases of coronavirus were detected. The end of tougher restrictions has followed a shift in the way the country counts infections and deaths — in part because, without mandatory testing, most Chinese may have failed to notify authorities about negative test results.
Despite the official data blackout, new Covid cases in China are estimated to be in the millions. At the same time, the country has resumed issuing both tourist visas to foreigners and passports to Chinese who want to travel abroad.
Under the justification of preventing the circulation of the coronavirus and the possible emergence of new variants, several countries have again imposed control measures against Chinese travelers. Most of them are limited to requiring a test with a negative result carried out up to 48 hours before boarding in China; there are still countries that will require passengers to also undergo detection tests upon disembarking, such as France and Japan.
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