Sun | May 31, 2026

Beijing threatens response to ‘unacceptable’ virus measures

Published:Tuesday | January 3, 2023 | 8:42 AM
A man pushes an elderly woman past patients receiving intravenous drips in the emergency ward of a hospital, Tuesday, January 3, 2023. As the virus continues to rip through China, global organisations and governments have called for the country to start sharing data while others have criticised its current numbers as meaningless. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government sharply criticised COVID-19 testing requirements imposed on passengers from China and threatened countermeasures against countries involved, which include the United States and several European nations.

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

“We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the COVID measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity,” she said.

Mao did not specify what steps China might take.

The comments were China's sharpest to date on the issue.

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

Other countries including the US, UK, India, Japan and several European nations have announced tougher COVID-19 measures on travellers from China amid concerns over a lack of data on infections in China and fears of the possibility that new variants may emerge.

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