WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday criticized China’s decision to cancel a growing number of flights from the United States over COVID-19 tests by passengers found to be subsequently positive and warned him of possible retaliatory measures.
A spokesman for the US Department of Transportation said Beijing’s actions were “inconsistent” with its obligations under a China-US deal.
In a statement, he said that Washington had opened discussions with the Chinese government and retained “the right to take regulatory measures if necessary”.
Chinese authorities on Wednesday ordered the suspension of six additional flights scheduled in the coming weeks from the United States, citing the surge in the number of passengers testing positive for coronavirus upon arrival in China.
Some 70 flights have thus been canceled, even though the number of air links between the two countries has been drastically reduced with the health crisis.
(Report by David Shepardson; French version by Jean Terzian)
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