
China will take counter-measures against US visa applicants after the United States began demanding that Chinese seekers of non-immigrant visas submit fingerprints, state media said on Wednesday.
Beijing’s retaliatory move against the new US policy comes as China wages a publicity battle against Washington over a US motion at the UN to censure its human rights practices.
The China Daily, quoting Foreign Ministry sources, said the Chinese embassy in the US would begin demanding that some American visa seekers take part in interviews. US diplomats would have to apply and pay for visas when they travel on a personal basis and citizens would not be eligible to apply for visas on arrival in China, the paper said. It did not say when the counter-measures would take effect.
The US embassy began collecting fingerprints for Chinese visa applicants on March 22, drawing boisterous front-page headlines and a fuming response from Beijing.


