China to ease coronavirus rules for African nationals after racism accusations
- Foreign ministry pledges improved measures after ambassadors demand end to ‘inhuman treatments meted out to Africans’
- It follows tensions in Guangzhou, where McDonald’s restaurant also displayed a notice saying ‘black people are not allowed to enter’
Chen Xiaodong, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, assured more than 20 ambassadors from African nations in a meeting on Monday that the Guangdong authorities were “improving measures and would gradually lift health management [restrictions] over African nationals except those who were infected, their close contacts and suspected cases”, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs late on Monday.
The move was based on “a principle of no discrimination”, Chen said, adding that a communication mechanism would be established with African nations’ consulates in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong.
In a letter to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, ambassadors from African nations said although they appreciated the good relationship between China and Africa, “stigmatisation and discrimination” had created the false impression that the virus was being spread by Africans.
“The Group of African Ambassadors in Beijing immediately demands the cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans,” it said.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Chen told ambassadors from African nations that in the face of the coronavirus China and Africa should “strengthen unity more than at any other time”, and pledged that China would provide all it could to support the battle against the pandemic in Africa “until the final victory”.
Representatives from African ambassadors responded by saying that they would work together with China to guide their citizens to follow Chinese laws.
On Monday, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission – the union’s executive arm – had a telephone call with Wang in which, according to Mahamat’s posts on Twitter, Wang reassured him “of measures under way in Guangzhou to improve the situation of Africans, in line with the strong and brotherly partnership between Africa and China”.
Coronavirus: China sees new cases as it stays on guard for imports
Guangzhou, traditionally a trading and garment industry hub, has more than 30,000 foreign residents, including 4,554 from Africa, the municipal government said in a briefing on Sunday.
Fears of a secondary coronavirus outbreak in China, fuelled by a growing number of imported infections, have risen in recent weeks.
However, the testing of more than 4,600 people from “high-risk” countries, after five Nigerians linked to a Guangzhou restaurant tested positive, exacerbated tensions between local people and the expat community in the city and across the country.
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