Air China aircraft. Maeil Newspaper DB
The United States has suspended flights from Chinese airlines to China. Conflict between the two countries is deepening as China’s retaliatory measure for blocking the entry of US flags into China for the prevention of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
According to Reuters on the 21st (local time), the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it was suspending operations on 44 flights from four Chinese airlines leaving the United States to China.
This measure applies to Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines, and will be effective until March 29, starting with Xiamen Airlines’ flights from Los Angeles, California, to Xiamen, Fujian, China on the 30th of this month. .
This is in response to the Chinese authorities blocking the entry of U.S. flag carriers into China for the prevention of COVID-19. Reuters reported that the move came after Chinese authorities banned entry of 44 US flights, including United Airlines Flight 20, American Airlines Flight 10 and Delta Air Lines 14, saying that some passengers tested positive for COVID-19.
The U.S. Department of Transportation argued that China’s measures were unilaterally implemented inconsistent with the agreement between the two countries. He also emphasized that the US is ready to reconsider its measures if China changes its stance and improves the situation for US airlines.
Liu Fengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the United States, urged the US to “stop the measures that restrict and impede normal passenger transportation by Chinese airlines.” “The policy for international flights to China is determined in a fair and transparent way,” Liu added.
According to Reuters, the two countries also had a conflict in August last year by limiting the number of passengers to 40%. Even at that time, China was the first to take action, and the United States had to fight back. Before Corona 19, more than 100 flights per week were operated between the US and China, but after Corona 19, that number has decreased to about 20.
The United States and China are at odds in various fields such as economy and security, and the conflict is deepening, with the United States deciding to engage in a ‘diplomatic boycott’ in which the government does not send a delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics scheduled for early next month.
