Beijing today condemned
a dozen countries' imposition of Covid tests on travelers from China, warning it
could take "countermeasures" in retaliation
.
"Some countries have put in place entry restrictions aimed exclusively at Chinese travellers. This has no scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, adding that China could "take countermeasures, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity".
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said COVID-19 tests for travelers arriving from China would continue despite Beijing's protests.
"I think we are doing our duty to ask for tests," Borne told France Info radio when she was asked about China's reaction, before adding: "We will continue to do it."
Meanwhile, according to reports from the
Financial Times
, the EU has offered China free vaccines against Covid-19 to help Beijing contain the spread of the epidemic in the country, after the end of the restrictions.
The Financial Times reported that Beijing has not yet responded to the offer.
A meeting of the EU Health Security Committee, a technical-consultative group on health security in the EU, is scheduled for this afternoon at European level.