China has suspended issuing some visas for South Korea and Japan in Beijing’s first retaliation against Covid-related curbs on Chinese travelers.

Chinese consulates in South Korea will stop issuing short-term visas for visits, business, tourism, medical care, transit and personal matters from Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said in a statement. The suspension will be adjusted if South Korea removes its “discriminative inbound restrictive measures” targeting China, it added.

Beijing has also stopped issuing visas to China-bound travelers from Japan as of Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for a major Tokyo travel agency who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.