China will temporarily suspend its usual reception of international heads of state in Beijing, Nikkei Asia Review reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands during talks in Guilin, China, on March 23 (Photo: Reuters).
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Before the Covid-19 pandemic, important meetings between Chinese officials and international leaders were mostly held in the capital Beijing. However, such meetings have recently been arranged in other localities instead.
When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in late March, the chosen location was Guilin, a city in Guangxi Province. Wang also met with his counterparts from Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia in Fujian Province last week. Fujian was also the location of Wang’s talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong.
This is because Beijing requires all foreign visitors to be quarantined for 21 days, longer than other cities in China. However, Beijing cannot enforce this rule on foreign officials with diplomatic immunity, and it is not feasible to quarantine foreign officials for weeks. Choosing other locations allows China to both meet its diplomatic needs and avoid the risk of an outbreak in the capital, Beijing, especially ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in July.
China continues to pursue strict epidemic prevention measures after the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, in late 2019. To date, China has recorded more than 90,000 cases, of which more than 4,600 people have died.
Minh Phuong
According to Nikkei
