China lifts visa ban for foreigners
China will resume issuing a series of visas to foreigners from Wednesday, the country's foreign ministry announced, as part of a major easing of travel restrictions in place since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. .
visas to foreigners from Wednesday, the country
The move marks the final step towards reopening China to the outside world, as Beijing breaks with the strict zero-Covid strategy that defined its response to the pandemic until a few months ago.
In addition to new visas being reviewed and approved, those issued before March 28, 2020 that remain valid will again allow entry into China, said a notice posted Tuesday on a social media account affiliated with the consular affairs office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Similar notices have appeared on the websites of several Chinese missions abroad, including its embassies in the United States and France.
The updated policy will also allow the resumption of visa-free travel for those arriving on cruise ships in Shanghai as well as for certain tour groups from Hong Kong, Macao and countries in the ASEAN regional group, indicates the opinion.< /p>
The move would “further facilitate the exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel,” he added.
China welcomed 65.7 million international visitors in 2019, according to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, before cutting itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic.
While most countries began to fully reopen their economies and welcome international travelers sooner, China only began to exit its strict Covid-19 containment strategy at the end of 2022 , after rare protests against President Xi Jinping's signature policy broke out across the country.
These late November protests turned into calls for more political freedoms, with some even calling for the resignation of Xi, the most widespread opposition to communist rule since the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising.
>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 travelers entering the country would no longer need to quarantine from January 8, but maintained visa restrictions for foreigners.
At the time, Beijing said it would “continue to adjust its visa policy for foreigners visiting China scientifically and dynamically according to… the epidemic situation.”
He also resumed issuing Chinese passports for "tourism" or "visiting friends abroad".
As cases rose in China around the New Year, several countries, including Japan and South Korea, reimposed restrictions on Chinese visitors, prompting a tit for tat response from Beijing.
>As cases declined in China, both sides later eased these restrictions.
The announcement that China will resume issuing visas to foreigners follows an important session of the country's parliament, which saw Xi confirmed for a third term as president and his close ally Li Qiang named prime minister.
Li admitted on Monday that meeting the country's economic growth target of "around 5%" would be "not an easy task".
China recorded just 3% growth last year, far missing its stated target of around 5.5% as the economy strained under the dual impact of strict Covid policies and of a real estate crisis.
AFP
visas to foreigners from Wednesday, the country
The move marks the final step towards reopening China to the outside world, as Beijing breaks with the strict zero-Covid strategy that defined its response to the pandemic until a few months ago.
In addition to new visas being reviewed and approved, those issued before March 28, 2020 that remain valid will again allow entry into China, said a notice posted Tuesday on a social media account affiliated with the consular affairs office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Similar notices have appeared on the websites of several Chinese missions abroad, including its embassies in the United States and France.
The updated policy will also allow the resumption of visa-free travel for those arriving on cruise ships in Shanghai as well as for certain tour groups from Hong Kong, Macao and countries in the ASEAN regional group, indicates the opinion.< /p>
The move would “further facilitate the exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel,” he added.
China welcomed 65.7 million international visitors in 2019, according to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, before cutting itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic.
While most countries began to fully reopen their economies and welcome international travelers sooner, China only began to exit its strict Covid-19 containment strategy at the end of 2022 , after rare protests against President Xi Jinping's signature policy broke out across the country.
These late November protests turned into calls for more political freedoms, with some even calling for the resignation of Xi, the most widespread opposition to communist rule since the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising.
>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 travelers entering the country would no longer need to quarantine from January 8, but maintained visa restrictions for foreigners.
At the time, Beijing said it would “continue to adjust its visa policy for foreigners visiting China scientifically and dynamically according to… the epidemic situation.”
He also resumed issuing Chinese passports for "tourism" or "visiting friends abroad".
As cases rose in China around the New Year, several countries, including Japan and South Korea, reimposed restrictions on Chinese visitors, prompting a tit for tat response from Beijing.
>As cases declined in China, both sides later eased these restrictions.
The announcement that China will resume issuing visas to foreigners follows an important session of the country's parliament, which saw Xi confirmed for a third term as president and his close ally Li Qiang named prime minister.
Li admitted on Monday that meeting the country's economic growth target of "around 5%" would be "not an easy task".
China recorded just 3% growth last year, far missing its stated target of around 5.5% as the economy strained under the dual impact of strict Covid policies and of a real estate crisis.
AFP
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