China Anticipates 1.56 Million Cross-Border Travellers for New Year’s Holiday
China Expects 90 Percent Increase in Border Crossings during New Year’s Holiday
The National Immigration Administration of China has announced that it expects the number of entries and exits at border control points to reach 90 percent of the pre-epidemic level in 2019 during the three-day New Year’s holiday. Passages through airports, ports, and border gates are projected to total 1.56 million during the holiday period.
Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, China had canceled all visas and closed its borders to the outside world. However, on January 8th of this year, China stopped treating Covid-19 as a “Category A epidemic disease” and lifted the travel restrictions imposed in accordance with the Border Health and Quarantine Law, subsequently reopening its borders.
Despite the lifting of border controls earlier this year, the number of people coming into the country from abroad has not yet returned to pre-Covid-19 levels. In the first 6 months of this year, there was a 70 percent decrease in the number of people arriving from abroad compared to the same period in 2019.
To address the economic impact of the pandemic, the Beijing administration is taking steps to stimulate tourism and increase business connections and commercial exchanges with foreign countries. This includes implementing visa exemptions and other facilitating regulations for foreigners.
On November 17th, the General Administration of Customs of China eliminated the requirement for citizens of 54 countries to obtain a visa when traveling to a third country. Additionally, citizens of 6 countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Malaysia, were unilaterally granted 15-day visa-free entry for a year on November 24th.
Currently, China provides reciprocal visa exemptions for holders of standard passports from 18 countries, and there are reciprocal visa exemptions for diplomatic, special, and service passport holders with many countries, including Turkey. These measures are aimed at promoting international travel and trade while also boosting the country’s economic recovery.
