- US diplomats already needed permission to meet local Chinese officials, but those in six cities must now notify the foreign ministry five days earlier
- It follows numerous threats by Beijing to retaliate against passage of US legislation concerning human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang
China has told American diplomats to notify its foreign ministry five days before any meetings with local government officials and educational and research institutes, mainland media reported on Thursday, in what would appear to represent its latest retaliation against Washington.
A report by Guancha.cn said that, with immediate effect, US diplomats based in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Wuhan should notify the foreign ministry five working days before any such meeting.
The report said this was in response to a US requirement imposed in October, under which Chinese diplomats had to notify the US state department before meetings with local or state officials and with educational and research institutions.
US officials said at that time that the US move was a reaction to the Chinese government's rules for American diplomats in China, who already needed to obtain permission from Beijing officials before travelling to official meetings in local provinces or institutions.
The US officials said that Chinese diplomats were not required to seek permission for their meetings, but that the restrictions were intended to persuade China to relent on its limits on US diplomats in China.
But Beijing said that October's US restrictions were in violation of the Vienna Convention and that the Chinese side did not at that point make similar requirements of US diplomats and consular officers in China.
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The new requirement from Beijing came with China and the US locked in rising confrontations over trade, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
Beijing vowed repeatedly to take countermeasures after US President Donald Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act " which will allow Washington to sanction officials assessed to be undermining human rights in Hong Kong " and the House of Representatives approved a bill paving the way for sanctions against Chinese officials over human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
On Monday, China said it had suspended visits of US military vessels and aircraft to Hong Kong and sanctioned five US-based non-government organisations including Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, saying they supported violent activities in Hong Kong and interfered in China's internal affairs.
Global Times, the nationalist tabloid published under the auspices of Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, reported that China may impose visa restrictions on US officials and legislators with "odious performance on Xinjiang issues". It also said China would soon release an "unreliable entity list" that would include "relevant US entities".
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The tensions between the two nations have triggered concerns that exchanges between them have become difficult, with tighter scrutiny of visa applications by academics and researchers from both sides. Observers have said this has hindered efforts to promote understanding and share intelligence.
But Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said the new notification requirement would not create new obstacles to US-China exchanges.
"It took China so long to respond, showing that China is not trying to actively trigger any new battle fields with the US, and is only making a necessary response after a series of provocative actions from the US," Wang said, referring to the US legislation concerning Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
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