People line up at an immigration office on Monday in Beijing, where they can renew their passports and travel outside mainland China. Yonhap

China calls South Korea's COVID test requirements 'discriminatory'

By Jack Lau

Beijing stopped issuing short-term visas for South Korean nationals on Tuesday, just days after South Korea imposed stricter COVID-19 measures on travelers from China.

"The Chinese embassy and consulates in South Korea will suspend the issuance of short-term visas to China for South Korean citizens for visits, business, travel, medical purposes, transit and general private matters," the Chinese embassy in Seoul said Tuesday in a statement on social media platform WeChat.

"The measures above will be adjusted, depending on the cancellation of South Korea's discriminatory entry restrictions on China."

Since Jan. 5, South Korea has required travelers from China to submit COVID test results before and after their flights. Those who tested positive after their flight will be quarantined. The country also limited the number of short-term visas issued to visitors from China and banned additional flights.

The measures will be reviewed at the end of February, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

South Korea introduced stricter measures as did other countries, including Australia, India, Canada and the United States, imposing fresh entry restrictions on travelers from China following the spike of COVID patients in the country.

The Chinese government has been opaque about its COVID-19 data, making it difficult to assess infection risks travelers from the country might bring.

On Friday, the KDCA said it had strengthened surveillance of cases from China.

China's new foreign minister Qin Gang told his South Korean counterpart in a Monday phone call that he expressed concern over South Korea's entry restrictions.

"I hope that the South Korean side would uphold an objective and scientific attitude," Qin was quoted by the Chinese foreign ministry as saying.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said in the call that the measures were imposed based on scientific grounds, according to a readout from the South Korean foreign ministry.

During a regular policy briefing, Lim Soo-suk, a foreign ministry spokesman, said South Korea will strengthen communication with China through diplomatic channels regarding the visa issue.

"South Korea will send its message to China again and work closely with the country (to resolve the problem)," Lim told reporters.

China stopped publishing its daily COVID-19 case tallies in late December. However, reports of a widespread outbreak in the most populous country in the world have stoked fears that new variants of the virus might emerge.

China's zero-COVID policy, which has been in place for nearly three years, ensured that the Chinese population was not as impacted by the more deadly alpha and delta variants. But the stringent measures of citywide lockdowns and mass testing also made sure that the population did not develop herd immunity through infection.

People wearing masks walk outside a crematorium on Jan. 4 in Beijing, China, where cases have ballooned after China ended its long-held zero-COVID policy. EPA- Yonhap

Jack Lau is a reporter with the South China Morning Post. He is currently based in Seoul, writing for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.