Australian Treasurer Downplays Beijing’s Displeasure With COVID-19 Testing Requirements

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers Delivers his Budget Address at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 25, 2022. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed threats of retaliation from Beijing as the country follows in the stead of other governments in imposing mandatory COVID-19 testing on Chinese travellers.

The Chinese communist regime has condemned the measure introduced on Jan. 5 on travellers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

“We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing in Beijing on Jan. 3.

She said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) opposed attempts to allegedly “manipulate” COVID-19 measures for “political purposes.”

Later, in an interview with ABC Radio on Jan. 4, Chalmers said he was not concerned about Beijing’s displeasure while defending Australia’s policy.

“Countries will make their own decisions about travel arrangements and how they manage COVID more broadly,” he said.

“We’ve been taking this action out of an abundance of caution.

“It’s consistent with the steps being taken in other countries.”

Treasurer Says COVID-19 Test Requirement Not Onerous

Chalmers also said that Australia’s requirement for travellers to undertake an authorised rapid antigen test was not onerous.

In addition, the treasurer stated that the measures were not discriminatory as the Australian government was taking cautionary actions given the lack of transparency with China’s COVID-19 data.

COVID-19 testing in a locked down neighbourhood in Shanghai, China, on March 17, 2022. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

“There certainly is a lot of concern around the global health community and the global economy about the transparency and quality that we see out of China on COVID,” he said.

“We do need to make sure that we’ve got the best possible surveillance of strains as they emerge but also waves as they emerge and become more difficult to manage.”

While Chalmers was not worried about the impact of the new policy on Australia’s recent effort to repair the relationship with China, he said the latest wave of infections could affect global supply chains and bring about economic consequences.

“We do expect there'll be big pressure on the Chinese workforce and big pressure on the supply chain,” he said.

“As a consequence, that will flow through the global economy, and we won’t be immune from that.”

COVID-19 Surge in China

Chalmers’ remarks come as China struggles to cope with the latest infection wave that one estimate says has affected around 600 million individuals with large cities reporting half their population as positive with the virus.

In Shanghai, one of China’s largest cities, reports reveal COVID cases continued to rise. At the same time, crematorium and funeral services are now seeing record demand.

Earlier, leaked minutes from a meeting of China’s top health body revealed that around 248 million Chinese people were infected in the first 20 days of December.

Patients on stretchers are seen at Tongren hospital in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 3, 2023. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

Despite the COVID-19 surge, the Chinese regime has announced it would allow citizens to travel abroad on Jan. 8 after closing the border for three years.

Health experts have expressed concern that the move could result in significant health challenges for other countries and cause the virus to mutate into more strains.

Following the CCP’s decision, many countries started imposing mandatory COVID-19 testing for its travellers, with Morocco banning all arrivals from the country.

On Jan. 3, the World Health Organisation (WHO) held a closed meeting with Chinese scientists in Geneva to discuss the latest wave of COVID-19 in the country.

The global community is waiting for the meeting’s outcome as WHO scientists have called on the Chinese regime to be forthcoming with the real COVID death numbers.

Australia’s COVID-19 Test Requirement

On Jan. 1, the Australian government announced that from the mid-day of Jan. 5, travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong and Macau would have to undertake a COVID-19 test within 48 hours before their departure regardless of vaccination status.

They are also required to show evidence of a negative test result.

The requirement will be applied to all incoming passengers, including Australians returning from China, except for airline crew, children under 12 years old, and people with medical conditions that prevent them from taking a test.

However, travellers do not need to take the test if they are just transiting.

The Australian government will not subject travellers to mandatory quarantine but advise them to test and isolate themselves if they develop symptoms.

The new policy has garnered support from the education sector, which relies on overseas Chinese students as a significant source of income.