BEIJING: As of Wednesday, China will once more begin issuing a variety of visas to foreign nationals, the nation’s foreign ministry announced, marking a significant easing of travel restrictions in place since the Covid-19 pandemic’s emergence.
The action marks the latest step towards reintroducing China to the outside world, as Beijing relaxes with the rigorous zero-Covid stance that defined its pandemic response until a few months ago.
A message published on a social media account connected to the foreign ministry’s consular affairs office on Tuesday stated that in addition to new visas being evaluated and accepted, those issued before March 28, 2020, that are still valid, will once again permit admission to China.
Similar announcements could be found on the websites of a number of Chinese diplomatic missions abroad, including those in France and the United States.
The revised policy will also permit the resume of visa-free travel for individuals arriving in Shanghai on cruise ships as well as for specific tourist groups from Hong Kong, Macau, and nations in the ASEAN regional grouping, according to the notification.
It was further said that the action will “further ease the exchange of Chinese and international personnel”.
Prior to cutting itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic, China welcomed 65.7 million foreign tourists in 2019, according to data from the UN World Tourism Organization.
The majority of nations had already begun to fully reopen their economies and welcome tourists from abroad, but China didn’t do either until late 2022, when nationwide protests against President Xi Jinping’s flagship programme finally gained traction.
Late November rallies turned into demands for greater political freedoms, with some even demanding for Xi to step down. This marked the broadest rejection of communist government since the Tiananmen Square upheaval in 1989.
In early December, Chinese authorities effectively ended the regime of mass testing, lockdowns and long quarantines – but the abrupt reversal led to a spike in Covid cases.
Beijing announced in late December that inbound travellers to the country would no longer need to quarantine from January 8, but kept in place visa restrictions on foreigners.
At the time, Beijing said it would “continue to adjust its visa policy for foreigners visiting China in a scientific and dynamic manner in accordance with… the epidemic situation”.
It also then resumed issuing Chinese passports for “tourism” or “overseas visits of friends”.
With instances spiking in China around the New Year, several nations – notably Japan and South Korea -reimposed restrictions on Chinese travellers, sparking a tit-for-tat response from Beijing.
Both parties eventually loosened those limitations as cases decreased in China.
Following an important session of the nation’s rubber-stamp parliament, during which Xi was confirmed for a third term as president and his close buddy Li Qiang was chosen premier, China announced that it will resume issuing visas to foreigners.
Li said on Monday that it would be “no simple challenge” to meet the nation’s aim of “about 5%” economic growth.
China posted just 3% growth last year, missing its stated target of around 5.5% by a wide margin as the economy was strained under the twin impact of strict Covid policies and a property crisis.
