Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Today (Saturday, 5 June 2021) the borders of China are fully open for 0/ 32 countries, partially open for 51/ 32 countries. Non-Chinese vaccines might speed up the answer . In recent weeks, Hong Kong has registered dozens of Delta-variant infections among travelers in its quarantine hotels, even as the city has not registered its own COVID-19 outbreak in months. Reopening with China is the key political and economic priority for the government, says Thomas. Anyone visiting China is urged to be flexible as lockdowns can happen to apartment buildings, offices, or even entire neighborhoods with little notice. It has been about 2 years that foreign students cannot come to China, but there are still possibilities that C. Zhongs comments suggest that Chinas government may be warming to the idea of learning to live with COVID, marking another shift in stance. For the newly qualified entrants, entry depends on having received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines at least 14 days prior to entry. In June Spains consulate-general in Shanghai protested after a newly arrived Spanish citizen was made to sign documents that she could not read and undergo days of tests and MRI scans in a clinic. Canada will finally open its borders, first to Americans, beginning August 9 By Paula Newton, CNN Updated 5:28 PM EDT, Mon July 19, 2021 . The reasons are many. Things can change fast in China. How Will China Open Its Border for International Students in - CUCAS https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-keep-covid-19-border-restrictions-for-another-year-11624361777. Hong Kong closed its borders to non-residents in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic. But Hong Kongs strict new rules may help stem Delta-driven outbreaks and bring the city closer to opening quarantine-free travel with mainland Chinathat is, if Chinas government ever chooses to accept travelers from Hong Kong. Editors Note: Coronavirus cases remain high across the globe. A closed border also gives the Chinese government more control on who they want to let into the country. The number of international flights has been kept to a handful a week, and as Chinese epidemiologists have acquired more experience of the improbable ways in which Covid is occasionally transmitted, quarantine has become stricter and longer. The change will have a profound effect on the borders with Mexico and Canada, where traveling back and forth was a way of life until the pandemic hit and the U.S. shut down nonessential travel. In order to open its borders, China will first have to vaccinate its population. People queue to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in Guangzhou in Guangdong province, China. The party has several important events it does not want disrupted by covid-19 outbreaks. Editors Note: A version of this story appeared in CNNs Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the countrys rise and how it impacts the world. Sue-Lin Wong: Correspondent, The Economist , This article appeared in the China section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2022 under the headline Closed, indefinitely, A global round-up from The Economist Intelligence Unit, As 2023 begins, the worlds most important climate system remains locked in La Nia, Published since September 1843 to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.. For which countries are the borders with China open? On Tuesday, Lam pointed to economic expansion in the first quarter to argue the city had not suffered badly from the tight restrictions. The case, in addition to a surge in Delta-driven waves of infections worldwide, prompted Hong Kong public health experts and local politicians over the weekend to call for Hong Kong to increase quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers. Some foreign ministers have been admitted to China to meet their counterpart, Wang Yi, but only in provincial cities. But this approach has sowed growing discontent among the public, particularly foreign nationals, who make up nearly 10% of the citys 7.5 million population. Passengers walk through Salt Lake City International Airport, Oct. 27, 2020. When the virus does manage to seep into the country, Chinas government deploys neighborhood- or citywide lockdowns, mass testing, and intensive contact-tracing measures to find infections and halt outbreaks. A Warner Bros. The five-yearly party congress in late 2022 is expected to confirm Xi Jinping as the countrys leader for at least another five years. China has tripled its daily COVID-19 vaccine rollout in June, inoculating 44% of its population with at least one dose, but its health experts warn against a quick border reopening, citing an . Terms & Conditions. IN JUNE 2021 one of Chinas most respected scientists tentatively suggested that the country might want to begin relaxing its zero-covid policy in 2022. Some of the 14 countries that share a border with China are Russia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal and Laos. When China is reopening its border in 2021 for foreigners? Hong Kongs decision to follow suit means the diverse metropolis, once known for attracting international business and globetrotting expats, is instead retreating further into isolation. Anecdote by anecdote, evidence is mounting that foreigners, whether suspected of bearing dangerous germs or ideas, are becoming less welcome. I do understand that people are annoyed [by the new restrictions], Carrie Lam, Hong Kongs Chief Executive, said in a press conference on Tuesday. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. For the most part, citizens and residents could enter the city after serving 14- to 21-day quarantines. 2. For their part, foreigners who live in mainland China appreciate being in a country that has the virus under control: in spring 2020 hundreds of millions of Chinese spent weeks at home to break the chain of transmission, often without pay. The domestic propaganda machinery has spent months boasting of the superiority of Chinas authoritarian system in suppressing the virus. Staying home is the best way to stem transmission. 2023 Cable News Network. China May Have More to Lose If Borders Open to Tourists. In August, Chinese social media users launched a campaign against another top Chinese infectious disease expert, Zhang Wenhong, for his comments that China must learn to coexist with the virus, rather than try to eradicate it. All our stories relating to the pandemic and the vaccines can be found on our coronavirus hub. On the boundary with Canada, cross-border hockey rivalries were community traditions until being upended by the pandemic. The vaccination campaign . Visits by political leaders from abroad have largely ceased. Today (Saturday, 5 June 2021) the borders of China are fully open for 0/ 32 countries, partially open for 51/ 32 countries. She was thrilled to hear the U.S. is reopening its land crossings to vaccinated travelers. Chinese airlines have said they expect tight restrictions on international flights to extend for the first half of the year. If the pandemic continues for a long time, even the strictest prevention and control methods will not work forever, Zhong said. These travelers are still required to take two PCR tests 24-48 hours before going to China (depending on their departure airport) and a pre-flight antigen test. Athletes' ambitions don't end when they leave the field of play. Zhong did not say how quickly China may reopen once reaching the 80%85% vaccination coverage, but he estimated that at Chinas current pace, over 80% of the population would be fully vaccinated by the end of this year. Unlike smaller economies that rely heavily on cross-border capital flows, outside talent or international tourism, Covid-19border restrictions have not stopped China from roaring back into growth. The lowest estimate was 6.6 billion USD per year, with a disclaimer that it could well be double that figure. Did you encounter any technical issues? China is making it easier for foreigners to enter the country. According to the World Health Organization, more than 40 countries have started vaccinating. The government rejected an offer for them to fly in by charter plane for a brief inspection visit in protective suits. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. Chan refuted that estimate, but didnt provide much hope for an earlier opening either. When will China open its borders? Non-Chinese vaccines might speed up Beyond that, specific details have not yet been spelled out. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. China Travel Restrictions 2023, When Will China Open Its Borders FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. These include the Winter Olympics that Beijing will host next February and a Communist Party congress in late 2022, at which Xi Jinping is set to seek a fresh term as supreme leader. The companys problems are many. Kovrig, an NGO worker and former diplomat, and Spavor, a businessman with a focus on North Korea, were detained following the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Covid-19 page. At the news conference on Tuesday, Lam argued that many Hong Kong-based companies do business in the mainland, which made the border reopening critical to the economy. Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at Hong Kong University, says he suspects that Hong Kong citizens and residents may be split between a COVID-zero approach and opening up only with the mainland and a living with COVID approach and aiming toward quarantine-free travel with the rest of the world. China opens its borders to foreigners who take Chinese shots, as geopolitical vaccine silos emerge By Julia Hollingsworth, CNN Updated 1:40 AM EDT, Sat March 20, 2021 Link Copied! Nicholas Thomas, a professor of health governance at the City University of Hong Kong, says that such strict measures may be necessary to protect Hong Kong citizens from a new outbreak, especially owing to the fact that much of the city remains vulnerable to infection. News Corp is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. 2:39 AM EDT, Wed July 21, 2021. vaccination programme. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Meanwhile, nationalistic sentiment, which was already rising in China prior to the pandemic, has reached new heights. Traveling to China during Covid-19: What you need to know before - CNN Non-vaccinated air travelers will be also able to enter but they will need to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test. That month, Chinas retail sales also grew by 2.5% compared with July, marking the slowest growth rate in over a year due in part to COVID-19 outbreaks and government-imposed lockdowns. But long before the warning, some Americans and other Westerners with long-lasting professional ties with China had already grown wary of visiting both mainland China and Hong Kong. GDP in the first quarter of this year grew 18.3%; in the EU, it fell 0.6%. The Winter Olympics start in and around Beijing in February, followed by the annual session of Chinas rubber-stamp parliament. This was followed by the citys Tuesday announcement that the vast majority of vaccinated residents returning to the city from the rest of the world should serve 14-day hotel quarantines before entering the city. The Asian giant was the first nation to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, because of which China . If youre in Beijing, you may want to visit this restaurant in a former temple. All rights reserved. State media describe foreigners, notably Americans, as too selfish, science-scorning and obsessed with individual rights to control the virus. Students have postponed their studies, threatening the finances of universities across the globe; small international businesses have shut down; and the belt and road initiative, designed to broaden Chinas global impact, has been slowed. Hong Kong has banned all noncitizens and nonresidents since the spring of 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic started in Chinas Hubei province, but early and strict lockdowns originally helped keep the virus under control. . Hong Kong's border with mainland China. However, the Omicron variant has proven challenging, and the government is still pursuing a zero Covid strategy. This story has been updated to include Hong Kongs new quarantine rules formally announced late Tuesday evening. For 18 months, China's borders have been all but locked, with most foreigners banned from entering the country and residents able to enter only after serving 14- to 21-day mandatory quarantines. Almost two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, some of the worlds major business hubs including New York, London and Paris are reopening as travel restrictions relax and daily life resumes. Their concerns include rules obliging all international arrivals, including children, to quarantine in a hotel for three weeks, and to enter an isolation clinic if they test positive. Hong Kongs strict new quarantine rules will effectively close the city off from international travel for the foreseeable future at the same time that other major financial centers like New York, London, and Singapore have been pursuing reopening plans even amid the rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant. Surveys by the American and European chambers of commerce suggested the number of foreign residents in China had fallen by 30% in 18 months. appreciated. On Tuesday, the city reversed course on a scheme that allowed residents to spend only seven days in quarantine if they could prove they were fully vaccinated and conducted a test to show that the vaccine provided enough antibodies to fight off infection. Hong Kong prioritized opening to China over the rest of the world - CNN Zhong said that trying to keep the disease out of China forever may become futile, especially as a high nationwide vaccination rate renders the disease less dangerous. The government plans to achieve two negative tests from each person in the entire population of about 240,000 from the local Yantian region, before declaring the crisis over. All Rights Reserved. Arguably, opening to China will bring in far more economic value, said Bernard Chan, convenor of the government advisory Executive Council. Its much more unsettling to think you could be thrown in jail as a hostage simply because you hold an American passport, the way Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were thrown in jail as Canadian hostages, in retaliation for something my government did that the Chinese regime didnt like, wrote James Mann, a journalist and author on China. Or you can also apply a new visa to China. 2023 Cable News Network. Travel Restrictions for U.S. Citizens China's borders will likely remain shut for months, but some may be China won't open up after lockdown anytime soon 26 September 2021 Author: Nicholas Thomas, CityU What is normal in a post-pandemic world? More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the U.K. and much . Hong Kong people need to go to the mainland, said the citys leader, Carrie Lam, at a news conference on Tuesday. And it isn't just about borders Analysis by Nectar Gan, CNN Updated 8:02 PM EST, Mon November 15, 2021 Link Copied! A Warner Bros. Zhang Wenhong, who has been likened to Anthony Fauci, President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser, for his sober, science-based analysis, was pilloried online. Rigorous testing and 20 million vaccinations a day might see Beijing ready to host the Winter Olympics 2022. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. And, Chan claimed, the majority of Hong Kongers are happy with things as they are. 2021. Border reopening could bring back tourism deficits for them, dragging on GDP growth, according to Shu. Residents from many provinces now get shopping coupons when they are vaccinated, and nationwide 20m doses are being administered every day. cost of Internet censorship in China (Jamestown, 12 January 2021). China may open its borders to visitors in October 2021 according to current trends: The use of COVID-19 vaccines around the world is improving the situation. 27/12/2022. Even so, these vaccines still prevent severe cases of covid-19 which, in theory, reduces pressure on the health-care system. China sets loose timeline for easing strict 'COVID-zero' measures Chinese leaders have declared that zero tolerance of covid-19 is a mark of good government. As of Jan 8, 2023, travelers from the United States and Canada are no longer required to take mandatory quarantine after landing in Chinese mainland. Both land and air borders will reopen to fully vaccinated travelers.