The US is considering imposing new Covid restrictions on Chinese arrivals, after Beijing announced it would reopen its borders next month. American officials say this is due to a lack of transparency surrounding the virus in China, as cases surge.
Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan – worried at importing Covid cases – have already outlined tighter measures for Chinese travellers, including negative tests. Beijing has said Covid rules should be brought in on a “scientific” basis. India is also stepping up measures for Chinese arrivals, but this was announced before Beijing said it would relax its strict border policy. Passport applications for Chinese citizens wishing to travel internationally will resume from 8 January, the country’s immigration authorities have said. Travel sites have reported a spike in traffic, leaving some countries fearful over the potential spread of Covid.
“There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing Covid-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data,” US officials said in a statement quoted by news agencies. Wang Wenbin, China’s foreign minister spokesperson, subsequently accused Western countries and media of “hyping up” and “distorting China’s Covid policy adjustments”. He said China believed all countries’ Covid responses should be “science-based and proportionate”, and should “not affect normal people-to-people exchange”.