Taiwan’s president has rebuked China over a ban on individual permits for its visitors to the self-ruled island amid growing tensions with Beijing.

China said the ban will come into force on Thursday, citing the state of ties with what it considers a wayward province.

It is a blow for Taiwan’s tourism industry, which has seen a recent growth in visitors from China.

“Using tourists as political tools would only create antipathy in Taiwanese people,” Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s president, told reporters in Taipei.

“Tourism shouldn’t be politicised,” she said, adding that past experience had shown China manipulated politics by clamping down on tourist numbers ahead of elections.

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Taiwan is set to hold presidential elections in January amid precarious relations with China, which has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Ms Tsai faces an uphill battle in the race following criticism over her party’s reform agenda as Beijing, which suspects her of pushing for the island’s formal independence, ratchets up diplomatic and military pressure.

China has triggered regional tension with military drills this week near Taiwan, Ms Tsai said, calling them an intimidation move ahead of the election.