African nations, U.S. say blacks mistreated in Chinese city

In this file photo, Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, left, Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, second left, Nigeria Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyema, third left and Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria H.E. Zhou Pingjian pose for a photographs before a meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday Jan. 11, 2017. The Chinese Foreign Minister is in the country as part of his African trip that will take him to the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zambia. (AP Photo/ Azeez Akunleyan)

JOHANNESBURG — African officials are confronting China publicly and in private over racist mistreatment of Africans in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, and the U.S. says African-Americans have been targeted too.

Some Africans in the commercial hub have reported being evicted or discriminated against amid coronavirus fears. And a U.S. Embassy security alert on Saturday said that "police 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."'

That's in 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 U.S. statement is titled "Discrimination against African-Americans in Guangzhou."

A recent increase in virus cases in China has been largely attributed to people arriving from overseas.

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

The diplomats reminded officials of their support of China during the pandemic, especially in the early days. 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.

"We take it very seriously," Ambassador Zhou Pingjian replies.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said he summoned the ambassador to express "extreme concern" and call for an immediate government response.

The chair of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Saturday said he also had summoned the Chinese ambassador to the African Union, Liu Yuxi, to express "our extreme concern."

Kenya, too, has spoken out. A foreign ministry statement noted "unfair responses against foreigners, particularly of African origin," from some locals in Guangzhou, especially landlords. Kenya's embassy in Beijing has "officially expressed concern," it said.

The statement said the Chinese embassy in Nairobi has told Kenya's foreign ministry that authorities in Guangzhou "have been tasked to take immediate action to safeguard the legitimate rights of the Africans concerned."

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."

China treats all foreigners equally, Zhao said.

------

Clarence Roy-Macaulay in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed.