The United States is reportedly set to lift the mandatory COVID-19 testing requirement for travelers arriving from China starting from the 10th.
On the 7th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) reported, citing multiple officials, that the requirement for travelers entering the U.S. from China to submit a negative COVID-19 test result will be abolished.
Officials explained regarding this measure that "it is not intended to ease diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and China," but rather "a decision based on the assessment that the COVID-19 situation in China has stabilized."
Previously, starting January 5, the U.S. mandated that all travelers aged 2 and older entering from China submit a negative COVID-19 test result due to the spread of COVID-19 within China.
Before the U.S. lifts the mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals from China, the South Korean government had already abolished the COVID-19 PCR testing requirement for arrivals from China as of the 1st. Japan also changed its policy on the 1st, shifting from testing all arrivals from mainland China to randomly testing one out of every five travelers.
The U.S. and China have continued comprehensive conflicts over issues such as semiconductors and Taiwan, and have also been at odds over COVID-19 entry restrictions.
When the U.S. mandated the submission of negative COVID-19 test results, China responded by requiring COVID-19 test submissions from countries strengthening quarantine measures against travelers from China, including the U.S.
The two countries are also clashing over theories about the origin of COVID-19. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy concluded that the virus leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Nicholas Burns, the U.S. Ambassador to China, publicly stated that China should be pressured regarding the Wuhan origin theory. Since the Trump administration, the U.S. has emphasized the theory that the virus first leaked from the Wuhan laboratory in China and has consistently criticized the Chinese government's opaque response.
As U.S.-China tensions escalate, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese officials have recently openly expressed dissatisfaction with the U.S. policy toward China.
On the 7th, President Xi unusually criticized the U.S. by saying it is "implementing a comprehensive blockade, encirclement, and suppression of China." Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang also warned strongly the day before, mentioning "disastrous consequences," and said, "If the U.S. does not hit the brakes on its China policy and recklessly follows the wrong path, derailment and overturning cannot be prevented, inevitably leading to conflict and confrontation."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
