Sino-African relations have been plunged into crisis after African officials reacted furiously to allegations that their nationals were being routinely discriminated against in Guangzhou, southern China, as alleged potential “carriers” of coronavirus.

Video posted on social media over the weekend showed people of African descent being evicted from homes and hotels, sleeping rough and being refused service in shops. Widespread reports alleged others have been forced into quarantine despite testing negative for Covid-19.

African ambassadors in Beijing wrote a letter to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seen by the Financial Times, condemning what they said was “the persistent harassment and humiliation of African nationals”. Families with young children had been forced to sleep on the streets and passports had been confiscated, they said.