Foreigners in China get equal treatment

China opposes any form of discrimination and bias, and has applied its prevention and control measures to foreigners the same way they are applied to Chinese, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

Responding to some media claims that xenophobic sentiments are rising in China since it restricted the entry of foreigners late last month, Zhao said China has always attached great importance to the safety and health of foreign nationals in China.

"We don't apply extra quarantine measures on someone just because they are foreigners, nor do we reduce or relax those measures just because they are foreigners," he said at a daily news conference.

Chinese government departments and local governments across the country have been doing their best to ensure that foreigners' needs in terms of everyday life, quarantine and medical treatment are met, Zhao said.

China also provides the same treatment to foreigners who contract the novel coronavirus as it provides to Chinese patients, Zhao said.

Speaking of China's announcement restricting the entry of foreigners with valid Chinese visas or residence permits, the spokesman said China was compelled to make the temporary move in accordance with the pandemic's development and many other countries' practices.

"China did this to be responsible for its own people as well as foreign citizens," Zhao said, adding that the country has fully addressed the reasonable concerns of foreigners and respected their religious faith and customs.

Zhao also provided an update on China's decision to send medical experts to the Philippines to help it fight COVID-19. He said the experts arrived in Manila on Sunday. The 12 experts, picked by the Fujian Provincial Health Commission and dispatched by the National Health Commission, are working mainly in Manila, he said.

They will share their experience in disease control, public health policies and medical treatment with Philippine counterparts working on the front line, Zhao said.