China Criticizes Japan's 'Strengthened Quarantine for Arrivals from China'... "Disease Control Must Be Scientific"

Wang Wonbin, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: "Human Exchanges Should Not Be Affected"
"China Consistently Upholds Scientific and Accurate Principles"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] The Chinese government expressed displeasure toward the Japanese government’s decision to conduct COVID-19 tests on arrivals from China, emphasizing "scientific epidemic prevention."

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a regular briefing on the 27th in response to a foreign reporter’s question about Japan’s entry restrictions, "Currently, all parties must scientifically combat the epidemic and ensure safe exchanges among people of all countries," adding, "We must cooperate to maintain the stability of global industrial chains and supply chains to promote the recovery of the world economy." Wang further added, "China always believes that epidemic prevention measures of all countries should be scientific and appropriate and should not affect normal human exchanges."

He also self-assessed, "Since the outbreak of the epidemic three years ago, the Chinese government has consistently adhered to scientific and accurate principles, continuously optimizing various prevention and control measures according to changes in the epidemic situation, making important contributions to economic and social development."

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is conducting a regular briefing on the 27th. (Photo by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio announced that entry restrictions would be strengthened as COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing in China. Regarding the background, Prime Minister Kishida explained, "While there is information that infections are rapidly spreading in mainland China, it is difficult to grasp detailed situations due to significant discrepancies in information between central and local governments and between government and private sectors, causing growing anxiety within Japan."

Under this measure, all people arriving in Japan from China and those who have visited China within the past seven days must undergo COVID-19 testing upon entry starting from the 30th. South Korea included China in its "targeted quarantine countries" list from the 16th and strengthened the fever screening criterion for symptomatic arrivals from China from 37.5℃ to 37.3℃.

Some express concern over the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases in China following the sudden abandonment of high-intensity epidemic prevention policies, which failed to establish herd immunity. In particular, there are forecasts that variant viruses may emerge during the process of many people being infected in a short period, making it difficult to maintain existing treatment and response strategies. The Japanese government’s announcement to isolate those who test positive among arrivals from China in waiting facilities and conduct viral genome analysis is interpreted in the same context. The Japanese Mainichi Shimbun also reported that China has instructed domestic research institutions not to conduct COVID-19 genome analysis.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.