Top US envoy to China says zero-Covid restrictions block access to Americans, possibly violating agreement
- Ambassador Nicholas Burns suggested that his missions’ inability to visit US prisoners in China violates 1980 consular agreement
- Taiwan is ‘at the centre’ of US-China disagreements, he said, adding that ‘we want a peaceful relationship’
Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to Beijing, said strict enforcement of pandemic rules has made it difficult to visit Chinese ministries or US consulates around the country, move consular staff in and out of the country or attend to American prisoners held in Chinese jails, in addition to the frustration it has created for many ordinary Chinese.
“We haven’t been able to get in to see most of the American prisoners here for the last three years because the government here has used, they said that for Covid reasons, for precautionary reasons, they won’t let our diplomats into these prisons,” he said, speaking to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs by video from Beijing.
03:59
Protests flare across China over zero-Covid, lockdowns after deadly Urumqi fire
“I fundamentally objected to that,” he said. “We have a right under our 1980 consular agreement to see American prisoners.”
“Life here is difficult because the Covid restrictions are so severe. There are reasons for them, given by the government of China. I don’t want to debate those publicly. I want to be respectful, but” they have a different view, he said. “So we’ll just have to see how this plays out. It’s obviously a very important event for the people of China.”