China has always believed that for all countries, COVID-19 response measures must be science-based and proportionate. They should not be used for political manipulation, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated on Wednesday. 

"The measures should not affect normal travel and people-to-people exchange and cooperation," Spokesperson Mao Ning said.  

Entry restriction targeting China 'unnecessary'

Earlier, some countries including the U.S., Italy and Japan, decided to impose additional COVID-19 tests for travelers from China. 

Health experts from many countries have said that entry restrictions targeting China are "unnecessary," Mao noted. 

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said it believed the introduction of mandatory COVID-19 screenings of travelers from China was "unjustified," saying the COVID-19 variants circulating in China are already circulating in the European Union (EU) and potential imported infections from China are "rather low" compared to the number of infections already occurring in the EU, BBC reported. 

The spokesperson also called for tackling the virus rather than politicizing the COVID-19 issue in response to the U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price's accusation saying China lacks transparency in sharing COVID-19 information. 

Staying open to WHO 

China has always shared its information and data responsibly with the international community. Over the past three years, China has carried out over 60 technical exchanges with the World Health Organization (WHO), she said. 

She added that China continues to share the genome data of the virus via the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data.

China has held two technical exchange meetings with the WHO since it optimized its COVID-19 control measures, one on December 9 and the other on December 30, 2022. Experts exchanged in-depth views on the status of the development of the pandemic, medical treatment, vaccination and other technical issues, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission said Tuesday. 

Starting Sunday, China will downgrade its COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B. Inbound travelers to China will only require a negative nucleic acid test result obtained within 48 hours of departure. 

"The test result will need to be noted in the customs health declaration form. Inbound travelers no longer need to apply for a health code from Chinese embassies or consulates. Those who test positive have to postpone their travel until they have a negative test result," Mao said.