The E.U. And China Are Barreling Toward a Political Standoff Over COVID-19

BRUSSELS — The European Union and China on Tuesday moved closer to a political standoff over the COVID-19 crisis, with Beijing vehemently rejecting travel restrictions some E.U. nations have started to impose that could be expanded in coming days. An E.U. offer of help, including vaccine donations, was also as good as slapped down, with Beijing insisting the situation was “under control” and medical provisions “in adequate supply,” government spokesperson Mao Ning said. And as the 27-nation bloc moved closer to imposing some sort of restrictions on travelers from China, Beijing threatened countermeasures. “We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the COVID measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity,” Mao said. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Still, the E.U. seemed bent on taking some sort of joint action to ensure incoming passengers from China would not transmit any potential new variants to the continent. A special E.U. health security committee joining representatives from the E.U. member nations discussed potential measures Tuesday, and E.U. spokesman Tim McPhie said that “the overwhelming majority of countries are in favor of pre-departure testing” in China. Read More: China’s Stunning U-Turn on Zero-COVID Takes Xi Jinping From Suffocating Control to Callous Inaction Sweden, which holds the E.U. presidency, also said in a statement that...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized China COVID-19 wire Source Type: news