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Nick Yang

China has introduced a new health declaration form for those entering or leaving the country, but the authorities have stressed that the country’s strict border controls will remain in place.
The country also remains committed to its zero-Covid policy even as the rest of the world finds ways to live with the virus, but has signalled it wants to make travel easier for some groups.
Here is how things stand at present.
Is it easier to enter China than before?
The customs administration said the new rules were designed to make the process more efficient but do not signal any relaxation in the country’s prevention and control requirements.
However, there has been an easing of restrictions on overseas students. Those holding valid residence permits have been allowed to return to the country starting from Wednesday and embassies have started processing applications for student visas again.
Two months ago, China also started allowing foreign nationals with permanent residence or who are visiting immediate family to make short visits.
US suspends 26 flights to China by Chinese carriers over Covid rules
The process of applying for work visas has also been made easier by scrapping a requirement to obtain a hard-to-obtain letter of invitation.
Authorities have also signalled they are keen to do more to help business travellers enter the country and, according to the Global Times newspaper, chartered business flights from India, Pakistan and South Korea have entered in the past two months.
However, overseas tourists are still being kept out.
How has the process changed?
There has been no real change. Travellers still need to take PCR tests before and after entering China, a customs spokesman told a press conference on Friday.
They also still have to provide their vaccine status, if asked by the local Chinese embassy, to apply for a health code, a requirement for using public transport and entering public places.
Essentially the new rules streamline the process by reducing the amount of form-filling needed to enter the country and travellers do not have to provide all this information when filling out a customs form.


They can also provide consent to take PCR tests online and no longer have to give their exact address on the customs form.
What is the current Covid situation in China?
Sporadic outbreaks are happening across the country, with lockdowns and curbs on movement being introduced after just a handful of cases.
Recently some of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, including the island of Hainan and parts of Xinjiang and Tibet, were locked down – stranding tens of thousands of travellers.
Mass tests are also still a regular feature of life. On Wednesday, millions of residents in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing had to queue up in temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) to be tested.
Overseas study back on the agenda as Chinese parents shrug off Covid fears
In the past week, nearly 10,000 positive cases have been recorded, but no deaths.
Is China ready to move on from zero-Covid?
The continued use of lockdowns and mass tests suggests not. Health officials have also warned that the country’s health system – which has stark divisions in service provision between rich and poor areas – risks being overwhelmed if the policy is abandoned.
Although more than 89 per cent of the population has received two doses of vaccine, less than 60 per cent of the population, and only 66 per cent of those aged over 60, had received a booster shot by early August.


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Coronavirus: China has new entry rules, but are they making travel easier?

China still maintains strict entry controls as part of its zero-Covid policy. Photo: EPA-EFE

Hainan’s Covid chaos exposes the bad, ugly – and scary – of China’s virus control measures

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Since coming to power a decade ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated power in the central government. Photo: Xinhua

Laboratory technicians work at a Covid-19 testing facility in Jiangsu province earlier this month. Photo: AFP

Shoppers show their health codes before entering a building in Beijing on August 10. Photo: Bloomberg

Passengers show airport workers evidence that they have tested negative for Covid-19 in Sanya on August 15. Photo: Xinhua

A stranded tourist shows an airport worker her health code in Haikou on August 18. Photo: Xinhua

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United Airlines is among three US carriers earlier hit by 
China’s “circuit-breaker” system. Photo: AP

Over 500 Hong Kong students register for new border channel aimed at easing travel to mainland China for start of school year

Young people with suitcases at Shenzhen Bay Port in Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee

The new scheme is aimed at allowing students to bypass the daily 2,000 quota for cross-border travellers. Photo: Dickson Lee

China’s zero-Covid policy turns Nepal border towns into ‘dead’ zones as trade routes dry up

China’s stringent Covid controls have prevented Nepali exporters from sending goods across the border. Photo: Reuters

Traffic moves along a road in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. Photo: Bloomberg

China reopens the door to foreign students after 2 years of Covid lockouts

Many students have been locked out of China because of Covid-19 restrictions. Photo: EPA-EFE

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China

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The customs service says it has streamlined the health declaration process for those entering and leaving the country, but stressed it had not eased controls
There have been some moves to help students and others return to China but the country is still sticking to its zero-Covid policies



The customs service says it has streamlined the health declaration process for those entering and leaving the country, but stressed it had not eased controls.


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China's border reopening

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Explainer | Coronavirus: China has new entry rules, but are they making travel easier?

The customs service says it has streamlined the health declaration process for those entering and leaving the country, but stressed it had not eased controls There have been some moves to help students and others return to China but the country is still sticking to its zero-Covid policies

Is it easier to enter China than before?

The customs service says it has streamlined the health declaration process for those entering and leaving the country, but stressed it had not eased controls

There have been some moves to help students and others return to China but the country is still sticking to its zero-Covid policies