China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) held a farewell ceremony on April 7 for a 15-member medical team to be sent to Abuja, Nigeria on April 8 to aid its battle against COVID-19. Photo: CRCC 

Chinese and Nigerian officials have dismissed allegations of discrimination against Nigerians and Africans in general in a South China city, dispelling online instigation and vindicating the Chinese government's measures to deal with those who violate anti-epidemic rules. 

On Chinese and Nigerian social media platforms, there have been video clips showing three Nigerians allegedly being chased out of hotels and asked to undergo mandatory quarantine periods by authorities of Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. Their passports were also seized by the authorities. The videos have been picked up by some Western media and used to instigate a narrative of discrimination against the African community in the city.  

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, after a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Zhou Pingjian on Tuesday, said that he had discussed the issue with the Chinese Embassy and found that these people were being investigated as they had violated local quarantine rules. 

There is nothing wrong with Guangzhou applying strict anti-epidemic rules based on the experience of Wuhan , Onyeama said, noting some people in Nigeria misinterpreted the measures and thought Nigerians were treated differently only based on video clips.

He agreed that it is necessary for China to carry out the measures, including quarantine, testing and passport checks, on international arrivals to prevent imported cases.

Imported cases have become the major source of China's new infections. As of Tuesday, there were 904 imported cases across China, according to the National Health Commission. 

Elia Kaiyamo, Namibian Ambassador to China, asked a Namibian to rectify her video that claimed African people are chased off from hotels and treated differently. The Namibian admitted that she was actually transferred to a different hotel with other foreigners and accepted a nucleic acid test. The discrimination rumors are putting Chinese friends into hard situation, the ambassador said, according to Namibian media.  

Guangzhou has a large African business community due to its trade ties with the continent. Among 119 imported cases in the city as of Monday, nine were from Nigeria and 10 from other African countries, according to Zhou. Screening of high-risk groups found 15 silent carriers in Guangzhou on Tuesday, 10 of whom were from African countries.  

Data proves that African people are a high-risk group in Guangzhou, and thorough screening and testing will protect them as well as Chinese residents, Ambassador Zhou said. 

Zhou noted that Guangzhou authorities have been improving their work methods, establishing effective communication mechanisms with African consulates, and working on ways to jointly resolve the concerns of Nigerian and African friends.  

Some Nigerian businesspeople have expired visas or passports and fear being evicted when they are included in wide-ranging screening. There could also be miscommunication, according to some Nigerians reached by the Global Times. 

China's hard-won success in the fight against the virus should not be ruined by imported infections, said a Nigerian lawyer who gave her name as Yahya. As a legal professional, she said she can fully understand the legal basis and responsibility of the Chinese government's handling of the epidemic, and there is no reason for foreigners to challenge these rules.

Observers also warned about being vigilant to instigation and biased reports by some media in Western countries that attacked China's reasonable methods against the pandemic to cover up their own inability in curbing the pandemic, not to mention vicious remarks and pure rumors spreading rampantly on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp.  

Some remarks driving a wedge between China and Nigeria cannot overwhelm the friendship between the people of the two countries, said the lawyer.  

According to posts on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, some Guangzhou people have been volunteering to help translate pandemic-control information booklets and help with communication between disease control staff and African residents. 

Top Chinese respiratory scientist Zhong Nanshan held a seminar on Wednesday to share China's experience in fighting against COVID-19 with 19 foreigners living and working in Guangzhou. People from some African countries including Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea said they appreciated the effort to help them better understand the Chinese government's efforts and strict measures to stop the spread of the virus.

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, many African countries have also launched strict management policies to prevent the virus' spread. Fifty-five members of the African Union have locked down their borders and seven have suspended international flights. 

Ethiopia, which has reported about 80 cases, banned hand shaking and required masks to be worn in public places. Violators face up to three  years in prison or a fine of 200,000 Ethiopian Birr ($6,000).