China on Tuesday threatened to impose countermeasures against nations demanding 'unacceptable' testing requirements from travellers from China.
Following reports of a surge in Covid cases in China, various countries including India imposed strict checks at airports on passengers from China. India mandated a Covid-negative report for travellers from China and five other countries. China charged that nations are trying to manipulate Covid measures for political purposes.
Beijing blasted COVID-19 testing requirements imposed on passengers from China and called it unacceptable.
“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 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.
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 Chinese travellers amid concerns over a lack of data on infections in China and fears of the possibility that new variants may spread.
China, which for most of the pandemic adopted a zero-COVID strategy that imposed harsh restrictions aimed at stamping out the virus, abruptly eased those measures in December.
Chinese authorities previously said that from January 8, overseas travellers would no longer need to quarantine upon arriving in China, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel.
(With PTI inputs)