BEIJING – In what appears to be a surprising move for the US, China has enforced visa restrictions on some of its officials for their stance on the Tibet issue.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had imposed visa restrictions on personnel who have “behaved badly” on Tibet-related issues.
The policy is a tit-for-tat response against the Trump administration which had imposed additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved in policies regarding foreigners’ access to Tibetan areas.
At a regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian expressed that Tibet-related issues were China’s internal affairs, accusing the US of violating international law and basic norms governing international relations.
“Tibet is open. China welcomes friendly people from other countries to visit, travel and do business in Tibet,” Lin told newsmen.
“But China opposes the interference of any country or person in Tibetan affairs under the pretext of so-called human rights, religion and culture,” he affirmed.
The background of the diplomatic tussle is that the U.S. accused the Chinese Communist Party of refusing to allow U.S. diplomats, journalists, and other international observers access to Tibet and other Tibetan areas of China, demanding “unrestricted access” to the areas for U.S. diplomats and others.
It is to be highlighted that access to Tibet is not restricted for anyone and foreign tourists are allowed to visit the region if they travel in groups and obtain a permit in advance. Moreover, diplomats and foreign journalists need to seek the approval of Tibet’s local authorities to visit the area.
The travel restrictions come at a time when Beijing and Washington are already involved in a massive trade war that has seen tariffs being imposed on goods from both the countries. The trade war is reminiscent of Donald Trump’s first tenure as president when the war intensified and affected other regional players as well.
