China to impose visa restrictions on US citizens over Tibet

China on Wednesday said it would impose visa restrictions on US citizens who have engaged in what it called egregious behaviour over Tibet. This move has come in an apparent retaliation against US restrictions on some Chinese officials.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that Beijing would allow no foreign interference in Tibetan affairs.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing what he called human rights abuses by the Chinese government in Tibetan areas, said on Tuesday the United States would restrict visas for some Chinese officials because Beijing obstructs travel to the region by US diplomats, journalists and tourists.

Also read | US will restrict visas for Chinese officials over Tibet, Pompeo says

The United States has increasingly been issuing such visa sanctions, including over China's recent clampdown on rights in Hong Kong and its ongoing incarceration of some one million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims.

The Tibet action comes after a 2018 law passed by Congress that aims to pressure China over its tight restrictions in the region.

Beijing has largely barred foreign journalists from visiting Tibet since 2008, when the region saw a wave of self-immolations as protests to conditions and has not responded to US requests to set up a consulate in Lhasa.

By contrast, the law notes that Chinese nationals face no restrictions on visiting any part of the United States.