China began retaliating on Tuesday against South Korea and Japan, two of the countries which have imposed COVID-19 curbs on travellers from China, the last major economy to reopen its borders after three years of isolation.
China's embassy in Seoul said it has suspended the issuance of short-term visas for visitors from South Korea. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that Beijing has imposed similar measures against Japan.
With the virus let loose, China has stopped publishing daily infection tallies. It has been reporting five or fewer deaths a day since the policy U-turn, figures that have been disputed by the World Health Organisation and are inconsistent with funeral homes reporting a surge in demand for their services.
Although Beijing also demands negative COVID test results from anyone landing in China, officials last week threatened retaliation against countries mandating tests for people coming from China. China has dismissed criticism over its data as politically-motivated attempts to smear its "success" in handling the pandemic and said any future mutations are likely to be more infectious but less harmful.An article in Health Times, a publication managed by People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, quoted several officials as saying infections have been declining in the capital Beijing and several Chinese provinces.
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