Global Courant 2023-04-25 16:40:41
BEIJING — China said on Tuesday that travelers entering the country will no longer be required to show a negative PCR test for the coronavirus, another step toward reopening after a long period of pandemic-era isolation.
But it was not clear whether testing requirements would be abolished altogether. A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said only that from April 29, people going to China “could” undergo an antigen test to “replace” the previously required PCR test within 48 hours before boarding their flight.
Airlines would not check test results before boarding, spokeswoman Mao Ning said. added during a regularly scheduled briefing. She did not say whether others, such as immigration officials, would check.
Communications from Chinese embassies abroad said travelers arriving in China still need to fill out a health declaration and customs officials would perform unspecified samples.
For three years, China imposed the world’s toughest coronavirus restrictions, enacted lockdowns and conducted regular mass testing in the name of “zero Covid.” Then in December the government abruptly dropped those rules as the economy slumped, the virus spread widely and protests erupted across the country. Beijing has since declared it is open to the world and has attempted to woo foreign businessmen and diplomats.
In practice, the reopening is partly delayed by geopolitical tensions. Tourist visas were not reinstated until last month. International flights remain prohibitively expensive for many, often costing thousands of dollars. The United States and China have not yet lifted the tit-for-tat caps they imposed on routes between their two countries during the pandemic.
Testing requirements were also politicized. In January, as the coronavirus spread widely across China, several countries, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, announced mandatory testing for inbound travelers from China. China, in reply, doubled to its demand for travelers from those countries – and also suspended the issuance of some visas for Japanese and South Koreans. (South Korea had also suspended some visas for Chinese travelers.)
The United States, Japan and South Korea no longer require pre-departure testing for travelers arriving from China, but China had only changed its rule on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, travelers from other countries to China were allowed to take antigen tests.
A day before the rule change was announced, Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, had called for the PCR testing requirement to be abolished, noting that it was costly and time-consuming for many travelers, and was motivated by a “preponderance of geopolitical considerations”.
The rule “cannot be justified on public health grounds, and it alienates the Chinese diaspora overseas, hampers China’s tourism industry and hampers China’s post-Covid reopening efforts,” Mr Huang wrote in a statement. blog post on the website of the municipality of New York.
China has maintained all along that its Covid measures were driven purely by science. In her announcement, Ms Mao, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said China would continue to “scientifically optimize” its rules.
