Berlin - (AFP) - Germany called on its citizens, Saturday, to avoid unnecessary travel to China , which is witnessing a wave of Covid infections unprecedented in three years.

"We are currently advising to avoid non-essential travel to China. The reason is the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and the overwhelmed health system," the State Department's Rapid Response Center said in a tweet.

China is facing an unprecedented wave of infections in three years, and the European Union this week urged member states to impose a Covid test in China before leaving, and urged these countries to complete this step by conducting "random checks" upon arrival on European soil.

As a precautionary measure, several countries including the United States, Japan, France and Germany have already issued similar measures.

Despite the resurgence of the epidemic, the Chinese authorities intend to cancel the mandatory quarantine upon arrival in China on Sunday and will again allow Chinese to travel abroad, after three years of ban.

Beijing on Tuesday denounced the imposition of Covid testing by certain countries, considering it "unacceptable" and threatening "retaliatory measures".

The World Health Organization, for its part, has criticized Beijing's controversial methods of counting Covid deaths.

Despite overcrowded Chinese medical facilities and crematoriums, the country has reported few Covid-related deaths.