The Chinese government has sharply criticized COVID-19 screening requirements for tourists from China and threatened retaliation against relevant countries, including the United States and several European countries, AP NEWS reported..

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" Mao did not specify what steps China could take.

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These comments were the sharpest to date on this issue from China.. This week, Australia and Canada joined a growing list of countries requiring travelers from China to take a COVID-19 test before boarding a flight as China battles a nationwide coronavirus outbreak after a sharp easing of restrictions that have been in place for much of the pandemic..

Other countries, including the US, UK, India, Japan and a number of European countries, have announced tightening measures to screen travelers from China for COVID-19 amid concerns about a lack of data on the situation in China and fears that new variants of the virus may emerge..

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Born spoke out in defense of the tests. Starting Wednesday, everyone flying from China to France will be required to present a negative virus test taken within the previous 48 hours and will be randomly tested upon arrival..

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From Thursday, the UK will require passengers from China to take a COVID test before boarding a plane. Transport Minister Mark Harper said the requirement is for "

Health officials will test passenger samples upon arrival in the UK, he said, but quarantine is not required for those who test positive..

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Sweden's public health agency said on Tuesday that it had urged the country's government to require travelers from China to present a recent negative COVID-19 test..

The agency's announcement comes as Sweden, which has taken over the rotating presidency of the EU, convened a meeting on Wednesday to try to agree on a common European line..

Austria also plans to test the wastewater of all aircraft arriving from China for new variants of the coronavirus, the Austrian Press Agency said on Tuesday, following a similar statement from Belgium a day earlier..

Last week, Chinese health officials said they had submitted data to GISAID, the global coronavirus data-sharing platform..

Versions of the virus causing infections in China are "

Mao, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said health authorities recently held a video conference with WHO to exchange views on the current COVID situation, medical treatment, vaccination and other technical issues, and agreed to continue technical exchanges to help end the pandemic as soon as possible..

China, which has followed a zero-COVID strategy for much of the pandemic with tight restrictions aimed at suppressing the virus, eased those measures sharply in December.. Chinese authorities previously said foreign travelers would no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival in China as of January 8, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel, but also raising concerns in host countries as infections surged in China..

250 million Chinese infected with COVID in December.