China suspends visas for South Koreans in virus retaliation

China suspended visas Tuesday for South Koreans to come to the country for tourism or business in apparent retaliation for COVID-19 testing requirements on Chinese travelers. A brief notice posted online by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said the ban would apply until South Korea lifted its “discriminatory measures on entrance by China” to the country. No other details were given, although China has threated to retaliate against countries that require travelers from China to show a negative test result for COVID-19 taken within the previous 48 hours.China requires the same measures for arriving travelers. Around a dozen countries have followed the U.S. in requiring negative tests for travelers coming from China, which has lifted most of its “zero-COVID” restrictions for the first time in three years but also has been experiencing a major outbreak since last month. The World Health Organization and several nations have accused China of withholding data on its outbreak. The testing requirements are aimed at identifying potential virus variants carried by travelers. The online notice at the embassy in Seoul did not say why China singled out South Korea for retaliation, although president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s deeply nationalistic government has long resented Seoul’s alliance with the U.S. (Source AP)