2 border cities in northern China limit rail imports, as region tackles Covid-19 outbreak

Suifenhe in Heilongjiang on the Russian border and Inner Mongolia’s Erenhot, next door to Mongolia, halt entry of certain non-containerised goods
The new restrictions underline Beijing’s zero-tolerance stance towards letting the virus spread

Coronavirus pandemic

Reuters

Published: 3:22pm, 30 Nov 2021

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Two Chinese border cities have halted some commodity imports by rail to reduce the risk of Covid-19 coming in from other countries, as northern areas of the country tackle a fresh resurgence of the coronavirus disease.

Suifenhe, a city in Heilongjiang province bordering Russia, had halted the import of some non-container goods such as coal and non-gold mineral ore as of Tuesday, according to state and local media.

That came two days after the Inner Mongolian city of Erenhot, a key transit hub next to Mongolia, suspended certain non-containerised imports of goods requiring manual loading and unloading, according to a local government statement.

These include some cargoes for coal, oil, copper ore, zinc and iron ore.

Residents line up for mass Covid-19 testing following new cases in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on November 29. Photo: cnsphoto via Reuters

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region reported 41 domestically transmitted symptomatic cases between Sunday and Monday, while Heilongjiang detected one local asymptomatic carrier over the same period.

The new restrictions underline Beijing’s zero-tolerance stance towards letting the virus spread. The cities did not say when the restrictions might be lifted.

The current outbreak is much smaller than many outbreaks outside China, but affected cities have quickly imposed travel restrictions and closed public venues.

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National authorities vowed this month to step up virus control in border areas, demanding strict implementation of prevention measures on imported cargo at land, air and seaports.

The northeastern cities of Huichun and Dongning, both in Heilongjiang on the Russian border, suspended from mid-November some non-essential imports by road, such as wine, milk and chocolate, to reduce infection risks.

As of November 29, China has reported 98,711 confirmed symptomatic cases, including both local and overseas arrivals. The death toll remained unchanged at 4,636.

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