China suspended issuing visas in its embassies in South Korea and Japan on Tuesday after the countries announced a negative COVID-19 test would be required from all travelers coming from China.
China announced it would retaliate against all countries that mandated a negative COVID-19 test on travelers from China after the country saw an increase in positive COVID-19 cases. China ditched its “zero-COVID” policy after historic protests took place in the country last month.
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“Regrettably, a handful of countries, in disregard of science and facts and the reality at home, have insisted on taking discriminatory entry restriction measures targeting China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Tuesday. “China firmly rejected this and took reciprocal measures.”
The South Korean foreign ministry, however, argued that it did make its decision to require the negative tests based on “scientific and objective” evidence.
“Our government’s step to strengthen anti-virus measures on passengers arriving from China is based on scientific and objective evidence,” the ministry said in a statement to the Associated Press. “We have provided information to the international community in a transparent manner and we have communicated with the Chinese side in advance.”
The Chinese Embassy in South Korea said it would lift its suspension when the country ends its “discriminatory entry restrictions.”
So far, only Seoul and Tokyo have announced a pause in visa operations, but at least eight other countries in North America, Europe, and Asia are requiring negative tests on passengers from China, including the United States.
“Pre-departure testing and the requirement to show a negative test result has been shown to decrease the number of infected passengers boarding airplanes, and it will help to slow the spread of the virus as we work to identify and understand any potential new variants that may emerge,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement last month.
The requirement in the U.S. is for all travelers coming from China, regardless of nationality. It applies to those 2 years and older and must be taken within two days of their departure from China.
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People who have tested positive more than 10 days before departure can also show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in place of the negative test, the CDC said.
