Foreign Ministry warns UK on visa policy change

China will consider not recognizing the British National (Overseas) passport as a valid travel document, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday, after the United Kingdom government issued details of the "Hong Kong BN (O) Visa" on Wednesday.

The UK government said the "Hong Kong BN (O) Visa" will be open for applications from January 2021.

China is firmly opposed to the move by the UK, which is "persistently conducting political manipulation" over the BN (O) issue despite the solemn representations China has lodged, Wang said.

"(The UK) has publicly broken its commitment, violated international law and the basic norms guiding international relations, and interfered flagrantly in Hong Kong affairs and China's domestic affairs," he said at a daily news conference, adding that China will reserve the right to take further action.

The UK government announced earlier this month it would change its BN(O) policies to allow holders to stay longer in the country and apply for citizenship, following the passage of the National Security Law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Before Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, the UK made an explicit commitment that it would not confer the right of abode to Chinese citizens in Hong Kong who hold BN (O) travel documents, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said earlier this month.

The UK has seriously violated its commitment by changing its policies to allow certain people to remain and apply for citizenship in the UK, Zhao said, adding that the UK will need to face all the consequences of China's reaction.

In another development, Wang said on Thursday that China welcomes Japan's decision to discuss with countries including China and the Republic of Korea the relaxation of entry restrictions for people from those countries.

If China and Japan resume necessary personnel exchanges in a gradual way, this will help them resume business activities, recover their economies more quickly and guarantee a stable supply chain, Wang said.