US, African countries slam Chinese city’s mistreatment of some visitors as racist

close

Video

CDC says coronavirus can spread on soles of shoes

'The Dr. Oz Show' host Dr. Mehmet Oz on the ways COVID-19 can spread.

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

The United States and multiple African nations are taking China to task over what they regard as China's racist mistreatment of Africans and African-Americans in the city of Guangzhou.

The criticism comes after Africans in the commercial hub have reported being evicted or discriminated against amid coronavirus fears.

A U.S. Embassy also put out a security alert on Saturday, saying that authorities in Guangzhou had ordered bars and restaurants not to serve clients "who appear to be of African origin," and local officials have launched mandatory testing and self-quarantine for "anyone with 'African contacts.'"

A delivery man wearing a mask against the coronavirus waits for orders in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Monday, April 13, 2020.  (AP)

The order was in an apparent response to a rise in virus infections in Guangzhou, the U.S. said, adding that "African-Americans have also reported that some businesses and hotels refuse to do business with them."

The police and public health bureau in Guangzhou on Tuesday told reporters that officials had responded to rumors that "300,000 black people in Guangzhou were setting off a second epidemic," which "caused panic." Officials said the rumor was untrue.

African diplomats in Beijing have met with Chinese foreign ministry officials and "stated in very strong terms their concern and condemnation of the disturbing and humiliating experiences our citizens have been subjected to," Sierra Leone's embassy in Beijing said in a statement Friday, adding that 14 citizens had been put into compulsory 14-day quarantine.

AFRICAN OFFICIALS PLEAD FOR GLOBAL AWARENESS IN CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

The diplomats reminded officials of their support of China during the pandemic. Some African nations that had scores or even hundreds of students stranded during China's earlier lockdown had sided with Chinese officials against calls for evacuations, and many African nations publicly praised Beijing for its virus response.

Separately, in an unusually open critique of Beijing, the speaker of Nigeria's House of Representatives tweeted a video of himself pressing the Chinese ambassador on the issue.

"It's almost undiplomatic the way I'm talking, but it's because I'm upset about what's going on," Femi Gbajabiamila says.

The scoldings continued Saturday as African nations that have openly praised China's development model or assertive investment in the continent in recent years made it clear that racist treatment of their citizens wouldn't be tolerated.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday told reporters that China's most urgent task is to prevent "overseas imports" of the virus but acknowledged that "there might be some misunderstandings in the implementation of measures."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.