China suspends flights to and from the UK in view of COVID-19

China will suspend flights to and from the United Kingdom, joining a growing list of countries who have instituted travel bans in light of a new variant of the coronavirus, its Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.

It did not offer details on when flights would stop.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre in London said it will suspend its operation until further notice.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press conference in Beijing that China will adjust relevant measures "as appropriate."

Non-Chinese passport holders from the UK were already banned from traveling to China in November.

Also Thursday, Wang denied the report that negotiations of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) stalled after China raised more demands on nuclear energy investment.

"As far as I know, the negotiation is currently going smoothly," Wang said.

The CAI is designed to provide European companies better market access and will enable them to compete in the Chinese market with Chinese companies on an equal basis.

The negotiation of the agreement was launched in 2014 and expected to conclude by the end of this year.

French foreign trade minister Franck Riester, however, said Wednesday that France will not sign the agreement if China doesn't take actions against alleged forced Uighur labor in Xinjiang.

Wang refuted the forced labor allegation and called it a "pure fabrication."

"Such despicable acts of fabricating rumors and stirring up trouble should be condemned and held accountable," Wang said.

(Image credit: PTI)