Long queues formed outside immigration offices in Beijing on Monday morning (9/1), with citizens eager to renew their passports after China has lifted border controls over the coronavirus which effectively prevented its 1.4 billion inhabitants from traveling for three years.
The re-opening of China which began on Sunday (8/1) is one of the latest measures Beijing is taking as it loosens its “zero COVID,” a process that began last month after historic protests against restrictions that largely brought the virus under control but left citizens frustrated and upset.
Waiting to renew his passport in a queue of more than 100 people in the Chinese capital, 67-year-old retiree Yang Jianguo told Reuters he plans to travel to the US to see his daughter for the first time in three years. “He got married last year but had to postpone the wedding ceremony because we couldn’t attend. We are very happy that we can go now,” Yang said, as reported by the Athens News Agency.
China’s foreign exchange and stock markets rallied today as investors bet the reopening will help boost the $17 trillion economy. dollar which is recording the slowest rates of growth in nearly half a century.
Beijing’s move to lift mandatory quarantine for visitors from abroad is expected to boost travel to destinations outside the country, as residents will not face those restrictions when they return.
However, flights are few and many countries require negative tests from visitors from China, in an effort to contain the outbreak that is putting heavy strain on many Chinese hospitals and crematoria. China also requires female travelers to test negative for COVID before departure.
State broadcaster CCTV reported yesterday that tickets for direct flights from South Korea to China were almost sold out. In the short term, the increase in demand from travelers will be affected by the limited number of flights to and from China, which are currently at only a small percentage of pre-COVID levels. According to Flight Master data, China had a total of 245 international flights to and from abroad yesterday, compared with 2,546 flights on the same day in 2019 – a 91% drop.
China’s health chiefs as well as state media, the Athens News Agency reports, have repeatedly reported that COVID cases are peaking across the country but downplayed the threat the disease now poses.
“Life is moving forward again!” the Communist Party’s official newspaper, People’s Daily, said in an article late yesterday praising the government’s policies on the virus. “Today the virus is weak, we are stronger.”
Officially, China has reported just 5,272 COVID-related deaths as of January 8, one of the lowest death rates from the disease worldwide. But the World Health Organization has said that the figures announced by China do not reflect the true picture, and virologists from around the world estimate that more than a million people in the country may die from the disease this year.
Source: News Beast
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
