Some African nations complain about treatment of Africans in China's Guangzhou

NAIROBI, April 11 (Reuters) - Several African countries have
demanded that China address their concerns that Africans in
Guangzhou city are being mistreated and harassed amid fears
there of a potential spread of coronavirus from imported cases.
In recent days Africans in the city have reported being
ejected from their apartments by their landlords, being tested
for coronavirus several times without being given results and
being shunned and discriminated against in public. Such
complaints have been made in local media, and on social media.
In a statement on Saturday, Ghana's minister of foreign
affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said she had summoned the
Chinese ambassador to express her disappointment and demand
action to address the "inhumane treatment."
"I regret and highly condemn this...ill-treament and racial
discrimination," the minister said.
She said she had summoned Ambassador Shi Ting Wang to
"register my disappointment and call for his government to
immediately address the situation and bring their officials to
order."
There was no immediate response from the Chinese Embassy in
Ghana to a request for comment on this.
In a tweeted statement on Saturday, the Chinese embassy in
Zimbabwe dismissed the accusation of Chinese deliberately
targeting Africans and suggested reports of racial
discrimination and harassment were being sensationalized.
"It is harmful to sensationalize isolated incidents," the
statement said. "China treats all individuals in the country,
Chinese and foreign alike, as equals."
China has ended its more than two-month lockdown in Wuhan,
the city where the coronavirus infections began, after
containing the outbreak there but authorities are now worried
about a potential second wave of infection from imported cases.
At the peak of the outbreak in Wuhan some African nations
refused to evacuate their students from China, expressing
confidence in Beijing's ability to handle the outbreak.
In a press statement on Friday the Kenyan government said
the "stringent testing of foreigners" that China had undertaken
had "precipitated unfair responses against foreigners
particularly of African origin."
In the foreign ministry statement about the treatment of
Africans in Guangzhou, Nairobi "officially expressed concern."
It added that government was working with Chinese authorities to
address the matter.
On Friday, Nigerian legislator Akinola Alabi tweeted a video
of a meeting between the leader of Nigeria's lower house of
parliament, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Chinese Ambassador Zhou
Pingjian. In it, Gbajabiamila demanded an explanation from the
diplomat after showing Zhou a video of a Nigerian complaining
about mistreatment in China.
The ambassador said in response to the questions from the
house leader that he took the complaints "very seriously" and
promised to convey them to the authorities back home.