The U.S. is planning to relax COVID-19 restrictions for travelers entering the country from China as soon as Friday.
The change in approach is due to declining cases, hospitalizations, and deaths caused by the virus, as well as additional data concerning the variants in the Asian country, according to CNN. The U.S.’s approach since January 5 after Beijing’s loosening of coronavirus restrictions led to a surge in cases has been that all travelers from China need to show a negative COVID test result before flying to the U.S.
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A source familiar with the U.S.’s plans told the news outlet that the measure was put in place at the beginning of this year due to “a large wave of infections in the PRC,” combined with “a lack of transparency” by Chinese officials surrounding the surge in concerning coronavirus numbers.
The Biden administration is still finalizing its new testing requirement plan, and more details are expected to come out in the coming days, according to the Washington Post.
The news comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China on several fronts. Most notably, several top U.S. intelligence officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, believe COVID-19 likely originated in a Wuhan, China, lab, not from a natural cause, as was originally the consensus understanding. All U.S. spy agencies agree COVID-19 originated in China, but the exact origin is still disputed. However, the new lab leak theory increases already strong doubts about China’s transparency.
The U.S. and China are at odds over Taiwan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asserted that China is “strongly considering” providing lethal aid to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, and top lawmakers have been concerned with China’s spying capabilities ever since the Chinese spy balloon was caught flying across the continental U.S. and then shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
China has accused the U.S. of being the aggressor in the war in Ukraine and strongly opposed claims that it was spying in North America, instead saying the balloon was for weather surveying purposes and condemning the U.S. for shooting it down.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping even led Chinese government officials in blaming the United States for struggles in his country on Tuesday, with Xi’s top deputy, Foreign Minister Qin Gang, warning that “if the United States does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation.”
A new Gallup poll found that 50% of Americans, including 76% of Republicans, believe China is the U.S.’s greatest enemy, largely due to China’s “association with the origin of COVID.”
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It was about three years ago that COVID-19 began to surge across the U.S. for the first time.
The Biden administration plans to continue monitoring coronavirus data from China and adjust its travel policy toward the country as needed.
