BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and China on Tuesday moved closer to a political standoff over the COVID-19 crisis, with Beijing vehemently rejecting travel restrictions some EU nations have started to impose that could be expanded in coming days.
An EU offer of help, including vaccine donations, was also as good as slapped down, with Beijing insisting the situation was “under control” and medical provisions “inadequate supply,” government spokesperson Mao Ning said.
And as the 27-nation bloc moved closer to imposing some sort of restrictions on travellers from China, Beijing threatened countermeasures.
“We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the COVID measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity,” Mao said.
Still, the EU seemed bent on taking some sort of joint action to ensure incoming passengers from China would not transmit any potential new variants to the continent.
A special EU health security committee joining representatives from the EU member nations discussed potential measures Tuesday, and EU spokesman Tim McPhie said that “the overwhelming majority of countries are in favour of pre-departure testing” in China.
Sweden, which holds the EU presidency, also said in a statement that “travellers from China need to be prepared for decisions being taken at short notice.”
Fearful of being caught unawares like at the outset of the global pandemic in early 2020, the EU Integrated Political Crisis Response group is now set Wednesday to decide whether to impose EU-wide entry requirements from China.
Several member nations announced individual efforts over the past week. At the same time, the EU’s European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control insisted that the situation in China didn’t pose an immediate overall health threat.