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As I see it
China’s retaliation over Covid travel curbs could be a diplomatic own goal
- Beijing has yet to explain why it hit back at South Korea and Japan but not other nations
- The move could end up alienating the neighbours – just when China needs them most
3-MIN READ3-MIN
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A former diplomat, Shi Jiangtao has worked as a China reporter at the Post for more than a decade.
China’s harsh zero-Covid policy may be dead, but its legacy lives on.
Beijing stopped issuing short-term visas to South Korean and Japanese nationals last week, the first countries to face retaliation over what it called “discriminatory entry restrictions” imposed on Chinese travellers.
It was one of the first decisions Qin Gang made as the new foreign minister. But Qin, or anyone else in Beijing, has yet to explain why South Korea and Japan are being targeted when more than two dozen other countries and the European Union all require Covid testing for travellers from China.
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Beijing’s ally North Korea and Morocco have gone further, with a total ban on arrivals from China.
Meanwhile, China’s “iron brother” Pakistan requires proof of vaccination, and a mandatory test is imposed on Chinese nationals crossing land borders into Russia – a nation President Xi Jinping once called China’s “best friend”.
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South Korean street vendors eagerly await Chinese tourists amid tit-for-tat Covid travel measures
South Korean street vendors eagerly await Chinese tourists amid tit-for-tat Covid travel measures
Given the widespread criticism over China’s lack of Covid data transparency and uncertainty over the scale and impact of the current outbreak, it is hard not to feel concerned about the huge surge in cases.
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