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China's border reopening

China's border reopening
Latest news and updates about how China is racing to vaccinate the public and reach herd immunity to enable the country to reopen its borders as part of its economic recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
Tourists from Spain in Shanghai. Photo: Xinhua
China economy

My Take | China’s extended visa-free tourist stays drive momentum for opening

Its latest foreign-visitor policy shows that China is willing to be pragmatic, rather than adhering strictly to ideologies.

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Hong Kong property

Chinachem’s Nina Hospitality aims to move up market, eyes overseas expansion

China travel

Opinion | How China can make life better for foreign and domestic tourists alike

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Tourism

China’s relaxed visa rules pay off as more overseas travellers arrive

The increase in foreign visitors boosts spending by an estimated US$14 billion, immigration authorities say.

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China reported a doubling in the number of foreigners arriving in the country in the first seven months of the year. Photo: Xinhua
China's economic recovery

China looks for new ways to boost services spending, from senior care to tourism

Facing subdued external demand, Beijing banks on services sector with support for childcare, visa-free travel and ‘low-altitude aviation’.

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China's economic recovery

Explainer | How easily can foreigners travel to China and spend money?

China welcomed 14.64 million international visitors in the first half of 2024, representing a 153 per cent increase from the same period last year.

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China economy

Opinion | China’s tourism policy must now go beyond visa-free travel

China must make it easier for foreigners to experience the country and citizens to travel abroad if it wants to reconnect with the world.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Hong Kong economy

First Hongkongers with foreign passports receive 5-year permits to visit mainland

Senior business figures among the permanent residents picking up new travel permits, with some planning trips as early as next week.

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Chinese culture

Taylor Swift is ‘walking GDP’: Shanghai urged to shake off curbs on foreign stars

Shanghai is missing out on cashing in on smash-hit international performances, government advisers in the Chinese financial hub have warned.

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Hong Kong tourism

Hongkongers snap up tour bookings ahead of Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link opening

Road link to open on Sunday, as Hong Kong tourism sector eyes opportunities of shorter trips across Pearl River Delta.

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The 44.69 billion yuan project is expected to be a key link in the Greater Bay Area. Photo: Getty Images
Hong Kong property

Mainland retailers struggle to survive Hong Kong’s sky-high rents, competition

A tide of mainland Chinese retail brands expanding in Hong Kong appears to have ebbed, with several food and beverage chains ending their tenancies as their businesses come under pressure

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People pass by a closed shop in Mong Kok The city’s famously high property rents are a constant threat to the survival of retailers. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Chinese tourists

Beijing scraps reservation system for most tourist sites in time for summer

Visitors will still need to book ahead for the Forbidden City and National Museum.

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Hong Kong economy

Beauty chain Sa Sa’s profit soars as mainlanders return to shop in Hong Kong

Hong Kong beauty products retailer Sa Sa International saw its profit jump almost fourfold in the last financial year as the number of mainland Chinese tourists returning to shop in the city continued to rise.

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Taiwan

Xiamen forum reveals state of tourism between mainland China and Taiwan

Straits Forum shows up Taiwanese concerns and the limitations of Beijing’s new policy.

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Tourists look at the mainland Chinese city Xiamen, from Taipei-governed Quemoy Island. Photo: AFP
China's economic recovery

Shanghai stay or Shanghai go? Foreigners return but aren’t settling like before

A loosening of visa restrictions is finally luring back tourists to mainland China’s most international city, so why are they not staying to work like they used to?

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Illustration: Brian Wang
China's economic recovery

The FOMO is real for China’s eager emigrants who see a move as now or never

Middle-class Chinese with the means to move abroad see a rapidly closing window of opportunity as developed countries tighten immigration policies, and the race is on as applicant interest surges.

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Hong Kong tourism

Hong Kong’s Cathay urged to launch direct flights to 8 new travel scheme cities

Tommy Tam of the Society of IATA Passenger Agents says Cathay has ‘unshirkable responsibility’ to provide more direct flights to 8 new locations.

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Tourism

Barrier to entry at China’s museums may translate to tourism losses

Visitors who cannot pre-book through Chinese apps – requiring a WeChat account and ability to read Chinese – are locked out of many attractions. These obstacles may affect China’s soft power abroad as well as tourism, say analysts.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
China's economic recovery

China’s medical testing sector downsizes as pandemic peak dissipates

With the end of pandemic control measures severely reducing the demand for medical testing services, China’s laboratories are facing massive declines in revenue and laying off large portions of their staff.

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China travel

China allows visa-free entries for 15 days at all cruise ports to lure tourists

The visa-policy easing is expected to boost tourism that has yet to fully rebound since the pandemic, and the move could also give local economies a jolt.

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China’s Communist Party

Health chief Ma Xiaowei steps down after steering China through Covid

Ma mobilised thousands of medical staff to help during major outbreaks while arguing in favour of stringent testing, quarantines and lockdowns.

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In the early days of the pandemic, then head of China’s National Health Commission, Ma Xiaowei, gives a news conference on the outbreak of a new coronavirus. Ma has stepped down. Photo: Reuters
Ant Group

Foreigners spend 700% more on Alipay in China over Labour Day holiday

Beijing has introduced measures aimed at boosting inbound tourism, including visa-free travel for a number of European and Southeast Asian countries.

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Spending through Alipay from foreigners in China saw a huge surge over the recent Labour Day holiday period. Photo: Shutterstock
China economy

KFC owner plans to tap less affluent customers in China’s smaller cities

Yum China Holdings, which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains in mainland China, plans to open more stores in ‘untapped’ parts of the country where it hopes its low-price strategy will appeal to vast numbers of less affluent customers.

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China travel

Foreigners make more trips to and from China, but still below pre-pandemic level

More than 13 million foreigners enter or exit mainland China in the first quarter of 2024 after Beijing introduces visa-free policies for countries in Europe and Southeast Asia.

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China travel

Tourism trouble: post-pandemic hurdles of China travel

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China property

Swire Properties to close Beijing hotel to make way for ‘retail landmark’

The 99-room The Opposite House, the group’s first hotel, will close after 16 years to make way for an ‘innovative retail landmark’ in the Taikoo Li Sanlitun area.

The Opposite House in Beijing. Photo: Weibo
China travel

China reports more trips by foreign travellers as visa-free policies take effect

Foreigners make 2.95 million trips to and from China in January and February, more than double the amount in the previous two-month period, with increase in visitors from France, Germany, Singapore and other countries covered by new visa rules.

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China travel

China international flights finally starting to rebound as border entries eased

Beijing has relaxed visa rules to attract more visitors in recent months, in line with intentions to stimulate a national economy beset by a property crunch, employment hurdles and hesitant consumer spending.

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