COVID-19 first surfaced in central China late last year, but Beijing has largely controlled its own outbreak through strict travel restrictions and strict health measures for anyone entering the country.
In March, when the virus spread around the world, China closed its borders to all foreigners.
These restrictions have been gradually eased to allow those stranded overseas to return with special permission from their embassies, negative COVID-19 tests and a two-week quarantine on arrival.
In a sharp reversal, as the outbreak broke out again across Europe, the Chinese Embassy in the UK said Beijing had “decided to temporarily suspend non-Chinese nationals from entering China.”
“The suspension is a temporary response that is required due to the current situation of COVID-19,” it said on Wednesday.
The website of the Chinese Embassy in Belgium announced a similar travel ban as a “last resort in response to the current pandemic”.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Agence France-Presse (AFP) for comment.
The UK, one of the hardest-hit countries in the world with nearly 48,000 deaths related to the virus and more than a million cases, has launched a new nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Belgium, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita worldwide, has been on lockdown since last week.
Similar notices were not published on the websites of Chinese embassies in other European countries on Thursday morning, and citizens of these countries with a visa can travel to China under certain conditions.
Beijing recently tightened requirements for travelers from several countries, making it a lot more difficult to enter.
These requirements include submitting a health certificate from the local Chinese embassy showing the results of a nucleic acid test and an antibody test within 48 hours of travel.
The new rules apply to travelers from countries such as France, India, Singapore, Canada, Germany, Pakistan, South Africa and the USA
The strict requirements for taking two tests and the short time frame have led to complaints.
The European Chamber of Commerce in China said the measures were “a de facto ban on anyone trying to get back to their life, work and families in China”.
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