China has openly lambasted the United States for its apparent use of its visa system as leverage against it.
China's foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday following the delayed release of US visas for Chinese delegates that were supposed to attend the International Astronautical Congress in Washington this week.
Government officials called out the United States for "weaponizing" its visa system and intentionally denying or delaying the issuance of visas for its Chinese delegation.
According to foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, the US apparently failed to grant the visas on time, resulting in the absence of the delegation from one of the world's largest space-related events.
The ministry further pointed out that the delaying of the release of the visa for the Chinese delegation was just the "tip of the iceberg." Hua went on and stated that the US' use of its immigration system is a serious disruption of global collaboration and communication.
According to the ministry, the visa applications for the Chinese delegation to the International Astronautical Congress event in Washington were submitted to the US in July.
The delegation also included members from the China National Space Administration, all of which had already visited the US embassy for visa interviews week prior to the international event.
As a result of the delayed visa, the Chinese delegation was not able to attend the conference. The delegation was supposed to take part in the event's opening ceremony and plenary discussions, both of which are considered to be very important parts of the events for China.
Even if the delegation would receive their visas this week, it isn't yet clear if they would attend the other programs during the events, which will last until Friday this week.
The majority of the Chinese delegation had not received their visas, but some representatives from the private sector were reportedly able to attend.
The 70th annual International Astronautical Congress is an important event for China given that is has recently become an active player following the rapid growth of its own space program. China even hosted the event back in 2013 and has remained an active participant in each year's gathering.
The event itself was established to bolster the collaboration between the different space programs across the world, with different programs that allow delegates to discuss and share their work.
US Vice-President Mike Pence made his opening remarks at the start of the conference on Monday and mentioned that he hopes to push forward with the collaboration between the US and "freedom-loving nations."
Pence's remarks were not received very well in China, with some condemning the vice president's "political overtones" that are at odds with the goals of the international gathering.
