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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Coronavirus: US diplomats wanting out of China risk ‘leaving safest country in the world’ in a pandemic, Beijing says

  • Beijing lodges formal protest with Washington as US consular staff and families seek to avoid zero-Covid control measures in China
  • There is little chance of the ‘non-discriminatory’ pandemic control measures being relaxed any time soon, says analyst

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The US embassy in Beijing. The State Department says the operating status of its mission in China hasn’t changed. Photo: Reuters
Catherine Wong,Jun MaiandZhao Ziwen
China has protested against a US move to pull out consular staff and their families to avoid pandemic control measures in the zero-Covid nation, saying US diplomats risk leaving the “safest country in world”.
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This comes after the US embassy in Beijing sent a departure request to Washington for a formal sign- off, as China ramps up Covid-19 containment protocols ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics starting on February 4.

Highlighting China’s efficient control of the pandemic, the Chinese foreign ministry called on Washington to “seriously think through the issues of granting authorisation for the departure of diplomats”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Photo: AP
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Photo: AP

“China is undoubtedly the safest country in the world [in terms of Covid-19 prevention],” ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday, warning that departure would “only elevate the risk of infections among the Americans [leaving]”.

“China has expressed solemn representation and dissatisfaction to the US,” Zhao told a daily press briefing in Beijing.

“We hope the US can abide by and follow China’s pandemic control measures, seriously understand China’s position and concerns, and cautiously handle the so-called authorised withdrawal of diplomats,” he added.

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Covid-19 cases in the US soared above 600,000 on Tuesday as the Omicron variant sweeps the country. China reported 44 cases, 24 of them locally transmitted.

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