Beijing/Seoul,February 1, 2023(AseanAll)-- As of today (February 1), China has resumed mandatory COVID-19 testing for passengers from South Korea, in apparent retaliation for Seoul's decision to extend visa restrictions on travelers from China.
On January 31, 2023，South Korean Embassy in Beijing said that China will start requiring on February 1 all visitors on direct flights from South Korea to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival and will quarantine those testing positive for COVID-19.
The embassy said details of quarantine measures for those testing positive, such as duration and costs, and when they will be terminated, remain unclear.
Previously on December 26, 2022, the National Health Commission of China announced that China would scrap the quarantine requirement for international arrivals starting on January 8，2023, as it downgraded management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B.
South Korea, Japan and several other countries have strengthened border controls for travelers from China, which reopened its borders and scrapped quarantine measures on January 8 amid fears over widespread COVID-19 infections in the country.
On January 10, China halted visa issuances for Japanese and South Korean travelers, criticizing the entry restrictions on visitors from China as "discriminatory."
Subsequently, on January 20, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China selected 20 countries to pilot the resumption of outbound group tourism, which was implemented on February 6. There were no South Korea and Japan in the list , which were the most popular outbound tourism destinations in China in the past.
According to the Chinese Embassy in Japan，the visa restrictions on Japanese citizens were lifted on January 29. The spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on January 30 that the Japanese embassy and consulates in China announced on January 20 the resumption of visa issuance for Chinese citizens.
However, the South Korean government announced on January 29 that it will extend its restrictions on issuing short-term visas to travelers from China due to the surge in coronavirus infections there. The measure will remain in place until the end of February.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning on January 31 accused "a handful of countries" of insistently "imposing discriminatory entry restrictions targeting China."
She said, "China firmly rejects this and has reason to take reciprocal measures as necessary."
On the same day, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo suggested that Seoul could lift the visa restrictions earlier than scheduled if the tally of infections among travelers from China proves to be manageable.
