China suspend visas for Japan and S Korea over Covid restrictions
Beijing says the pause on South Korean visas will remain in place until "discriminatory" entry restrictions against China are lifted.
Japan and South Korea are not the only countries imposing entry requirements on travellers from China, where Covid cases are surging, but their measures are among the most stringent.
Last week, South Korea stopped issuing tourist visas for those coming from China, which the Chinese foreign ministry called "unacceptable" and "unscientific".
Japan, meanwhile, is currently allowing Chinese visitors into the country - provided they test negative for Covid. This is similar to the UK and the US, but Japan restricts flights from China to certain Japanese cities.
Beijing's embassies in both Seoul and Tokyo confirmed the new visa restrictions for visitors to China.
China reopened its borders on Sunday for the first time since March 2020 as part of scrapping of its "zero-Covid" policy.
Reacting to China's latest visa restrictions, South Korea's foreign ministry told that its policy towards arrivals from China was "in accordance with scientific and objective evidence".
According to South Korea's Disease Control and Prevention Agency, around a third of all arrivals from China tested positive for Covid prior to the visa restrictions being put in place.
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