The State Department advised US citizens to reconsider any travel to China due to restrictions imposed by Beijing.
The United States Department of State ordered the evacuation of non-essential personnel from the US consulate in the Chinese city of Shanghai amid an outbreak of Covid-19 and a harsh confinement decreed by the authorities of the Asian country.
The institution published a statement on Monday announcing this measure after last Friday it authorized the voluntary evacuation of the representation workers.
The Department also advised US citizens to reconsider any travel to China due to current restrictions imposed by Beijing to contain the increase in coronavirus cases.
U.S. Mission China Statement on Travel Advisory and Authorized Departure: https://t.co/rcd1SqAH70
— 美国驻华使领馆 US MissionCN (@USA_China_Talk) April 9, 2022
It also advises against traveling to Hong Kong and Jilin province due to the strict measures imposed to stop the rebound in infections due to the presence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
At the request of the US, last weekend, Beijing submitted a formal complaint to Washington for criticizing Chinese anticovid restrictions, which include the confinement of entire cities as in the case of Shanghai.
“We are not at all satisfied with the US accusations. We firmly oppose them and have filed a formal complaint for this reason,” foreign spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
The official added that his government has “tried to assist, as far as possible, diplomatic and consular personnel residing in China. We are not at all satisfied with the American accusations. We strongly oppose them and have filed a formal complaint for this reason.”
China ordered isolation and health surveillance measures after the alarming increase in cases of the coronavirus variant, Omicrom, which caused a new wave of infections with a record number of registered cases.