China threatens ‘counter-measures’ as countries introduce Covid screening

By Associated Press Reporters

Beijing has condemned the introduction of Covid-19 testing on passengers arriving in some countries from China, and threatened its own counter-measures.

“We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.

“We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take counter-measures based on the principle of reciprocity.”

Australia and Canada this week joined a growing list of countries requiring travellers from China to take a Covid-19 test before boarding their flight as the country battles a nationwide outbreak of coronavirus after abruptly easing restrictions that were in place for much of the pandemic.

Other countries including the US, the UK, India, Japan and several European nations have announced tougher measures on Chinese travellers amid concerns over a lack of data on infections in China and fears that new variants could spread.

China, which for most of the pandemic adopted a zero-Covid strategy that imposed harsh restrictions aimed at stamping out the virus, abruptly eased the measures in December.

Authorities had previously said that from January 8, overseas travellers would no longer need to quarantine on arriving in China, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel.