The Chinese government on Tuesday pushed back against other countries’ Covid-19 testing requirements imposed on passengers from its country and threatened to impose countermeasures.
“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.
She added, “We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity.”
The Biden Administration announced last week that all travelers over age 2 flying from airports in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau must present a negative Covid test before traveling to the U.S. starting January 5.
The CDC also issued an advisory discouraging Americans from traveling to China.
The U.S. is just one of a growing list of countries that has imposed similar requirements upon travelers from China, the latest of which were Australia and Canada.
Sweden’s Public Health Agency is urging its government to require Covid testing on travelers from China. The Swedish government says it’s “preparing to introduce travel restrictions.”
Sweden, which has taken over the European Union’s rotating presidency, has called a meeting for Wednesday of the EU’s crisis management mechanism in Brussels to discuss travel restrictions with the aim of agreeing on a common line.
The nations’ travel requirements follow rising global concerns as China has eased its formerly draconian zero Covid policy amid a surge of cases.
Chinese authorities previously said that starting January 8, overseas travelers would no longer need to quarantine upon arriving in China, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel.
