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China suspends tourist visas for South Korean and Japanese travellers
Passengers wait in line to board a plane to China at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.

THE Chinese government suspended issuing tourist and business visas today for South Koreans — and reportedly for the Japanese too — in apparent retaliation for Covid-19 testing requirements imposed by those countries on travellers from China.

The Chinese embassy in Seoul, in a brief notice on its WeChat social media account, said the ban would continue until South Korea lifts its “discriminatory entry measures” against China.

Japan’s Kyodo News service said the ban would also affect Japanese travellers, though there was no similar announcement from China.

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