BEIJING, 22 December, 2020, (TON): China will take countermeasures against those responsible for hurting the Chinese side, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, in response to additional U.S. visa bans on Chinese officials.

The U.S. has used visas as a weapon against China, this has severely interfered in China’s internal affairs, the ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press briefing.

The U.S. on Monday imposed additional visa restrictions on some Chinese officials over alleged human rights issues, according to a statement by the U.S. State Department.

The U.S. move came less than one month after it announced new visa rules that limit the duration of travel visas for members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and their immediate families.

China-US ties have grown increasingly antagonistic over the past year as the world’s top two economies sparred over Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong and rising tensions in the South China Sea. Diplomatic ties between US and China hit a low point.