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China Briefing | When will China open its borders? Non-Chinese vaccines might speed up the answer
- China’s ‘zero-Covid’ approach has been successful, but it risks leaving the country increasingly isolated as others open up
- Approving inoculations such as Pfizer-BioNTech will accelerate progress towards herd immunity, and help China re-engage with the world
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By all accounts, Britain’s move to relax nearly all coronavirus restrictions on July 19 – known as Freedom Day – could not have come at a worse time.
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It is hardly surprising that on the same day, American and European equities suffered their worst session of the year amid rising fears that the highly contagious Delta variant could impact global economic growth. After marking Freedom Day, Britain recorded its largest number of Covid-19 deaths in months.
Despite a surge in cases, Britain is not alone in easing social distancing controls and opening borders after more than half its population has been fully vaccinated. Canada has announced that it will allow in fully vaccinated travellers from the United States on August 9, and those from other countries on September 7.
Clearly, those countries have chosen the approach of accepting low levels of daily cases to restore international travel and drive their economies forward.
China has taken the opposite tack. It may be the first major economy to have brought the virus under control, with its people’s movements largely returning to normal, but it looks increasingly likely China will be among the last to open its borders.
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