China has hit back at entry restrictions enforced by Australia and other countries on Chinese travellers, saying any COVID-19 control measures need to be "proportionate" and "science-based".
It comes after the federal government announced travellers from China to Australia will be required to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test and show evidence of a negative result.
It followed similar decisions by a number of countries, including the US and UK, and more countries have followed suit.
During a press conference, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was asked about China's stance on the restrictions.
"China always believes that for all countries, COVID response measures need to be science-based and proportionate without affecting normal travel and people-to-people exchange and cooperation," Mr Wang said.
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said restrictions some countries had introduced in response to China's COVID outbreak were understandable given the lack of information from Beijing.
Mr Wang responded that "authoritative medical experts" from different countries had said entry restrictions on travellers arriving from China were "unnecessary".
"China will, in light of the Chinese people's inclination for outbound travel, resume outbound tourism to countries where conditions allow," he added.
Countries imposing curbs on Chinese travellers
Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as COVID-19 cases surge following its relaxation of "zero-COVID" rules. China has rejected criticism of its COVID data.
More than a dozen countries have already slapped travellers from China with fresh travel regulations.
Here is a rundown of the countries that have imposed mandatory COVID tests and other rules on arrivals from China:
The United States will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers from China beginning on January 5.
All air passengers aged two and older will require a negative result from a test no more than two days before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macau.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said US citizens should reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The UK will require a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test for passengers from China as of January 5.
France will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID-19 test result less than 48 hours before departure.
Starting January 1, France will also carry out random PCR tests upon arrival on travellers coming from China, a government official told reporters.
France has urged all 26 other European Union member states to test Chinese travellers for COVID-19.
India has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Passengers from those countries will be quarantined if they show symptoms or test positive.
Air travellers to Canada from China must test negative for COVID-19 no more than two days before departure.
Japan will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. Those who test positive will be required to quarantine for seven days. New border measures for China went into effect at midnight on December 30. The Japanese government will also limit requests from airlines to increase flights to China.
Italy has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers from China, while Spain will require a negative COVID-19 test or a full course of vaccination against the disease for travellers from China.
Malaysia will screen all inbound travellers for fever and test wastewater from aircraft arriving from China for COVID-19.
Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre said all passengers on direct flights from China, as well as by boat at two offshore islands, will have to take PCR tests upon arrival, starting on January 1.
South Korea will require travellers from China to provide negative COVID-19 test results before departure, South Korea's News1 news agency reported.
Morocco will impose a ban on people arriving from China, whatever their nationality, from January 3.
Qatar will require travellers arriving from China from January 3 to provide a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 48 hours of departure, state news agency QNA said.
European Union government health officials will hold talks on Wednesday on a coordinated response to the surge in COVID-19 infections in China, the Swedish EU presidency said on Monday, after December talks concluded with no decisions on the matter.
ABC/Wires
