The US government said on Friday it would suspend 44 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government's decision to suspend some US carrier flights over COVID-19 concerns. The Biden administration claims the suspension is due to the spread of the Covid pandemic and an effort to halt infections. 

Suspended flights will begin January 30 and include flights operated by Xiamen Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China.

Since December 31, Chinese authorities have suspended 20 United Airlines, 10 American Airlines, and 14 Delta Airlines flights, after some passengers tested positive for COVID-19. As recently as Tuesday, the Transportation Department said the Chinese government had announced new US flight cancellations. 

Commenting on the matter, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, called the US moves "retaliatory" and stressed that the Chinese policy for international passenger flights entering China has "been applied equally to Chinese and foreign airlines in a fair, open and transparent way."

The spokesperson maintained that the US retaliatory position to cancel 44 US to China flights is "very unreasonable," adding, "We urge the US side to stop disrupting and restricting the normal passenger flights operated by Chinese airlines."

In his statement, Liu highlighted that the Chinese government's decision to stop some China-bound aircraft has effectively blocked the cross-border transmission of the virus, despite a significant rise in the number of cases imported to China.

China's policy has been administered fairly and transparently to both Chinese and international airlines, according to Liu.