BEIJING: China has announced reopening its borders to foreign tourists for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 by restoring the issuance of all types of visas from Wednesday.
The move comes after Chinese authorities last month declared victory over a recent surge in the virus.
The boost to the tourism sector is expected to aid the $17 trillion economy that last year suffered one of its slowest growth rates in nearly fifty years.
Areas in China that did not require any visas prior to the pandemic will revert to visa-free entry, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. These will include the southern tourist island of Hainan and cruise ships passing through Shanghai port.
Foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau will also be able to enter the southern manufacturing hub of Guangdong without a visa.
The ministry also said that foreigners holding visas issued before March 28, 2020 that are still within their validity dates will also be able to enter the country.
Protests against Xi’s Covid-19 policy
Although, most countries started fully reopening their economies and welcoming international travellers earlier, China only started easing its strict Covid-19 curbs in late 2022, after rare countrywide demonstrations against President Xi Jinping’s signature policy.
The protests in late November expanded into calls for more political freedoms, with some even demanding Xi’s resignation, the most widespread opposition to communist rule since the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising.
In early December, Chinese authorities ended restrictions related to 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.
