Chinese travellers’ discrimination politicizes COVID19

 Published: January 06,2023

By Staff writer

Simply because China is facing a surge in COVID 19 infection cases, the US and Japan are some of the countries that have announced measures of COVID-19 testing on travellers arriving from China. This comes at a time when all countries around the world have relaxed COVID-19 restrictions and almost all require proof of vaccination. The move can only be interpreted as politically motivated targeting China. The world should condemn this practice that is not backed by scientific evidence. When the US and other countries faced the highest number of infections, their citizens were not discriminated against while travelling to other countries.

China always believes that countries should not use discriminatory practices to affect normal people-to-people exchanges. “We have noted that recently some people in the US have made comments on China’s COVID policy adjustment. We also noted that quite many people have said if the US had not politicized the epidemic, and had treated it responsibly and put people’s lives first like the Chinese government, perhaps the COVID situation in the US and the whole world would not have become what it is today,” Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Chinese officials said they are ready to take corresponding measures in case some countries impose restrictions on Chinese travellers. Instead, China called for joint efforts to win the war against the pandemic rather than politicizing the issue.

The US has always used the epidemic to achieve its political goals by launching a smear campaign targeting China, and slandering China’s domestic and global efforts in fighting the epidemic, which also echoes its China strategy characterized with competition and rivalry, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told media.

According to Li, when it comes to countermeasures against the US’ discriminatory and unnecessary moves towards Chinese travelers, China could adopt measures on the basis of reciprocity, for example, imposing mandatory PCR tests on those traveling from the US to China. “But it’s the US side that created a bad precedent, putting more obstacles in the way of normal business and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries,” he said.

While the US and Japan plan to impose restrictions, others such France and Great Britain have made it clear they are ready to welcome Chinese travelers who before the pandemic accounted for major driver of international tourism.

Experts have warned   that singling out China could heighten the risk of greater anti-Chinese racism, as seen early in the pandemic when Asians around the world faced discrimination and violent hate crimes. Before the pandemic, China was the world’s largest market for outbound travel, having skyrocketed from 4.5 million travelers in 2000 to 150 million in 2018. The country is also the world’s largest spender, accounting for $277 billion or 16% of the world’s total $1.7 trillion international tourism spending, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organization.

Threats for discriminatory practices against Chinese travelers came at a time China announced that starting Jan. 8, 2023, travelers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival in China and visa arrangements. Visa requirements for foreigners to enter the country for resumption of work, business, study, visiting relatives and other gatherings would be improved, while Chinese citizens’ ability to travel overseas will also be “resumed.