Starting Wednesday, China is eliminating the requirement for incoming travelers to present a negative COVID-19 test result. This move signifies a pivotal point in China’s global reintegration, concluding a three-year period of isolation that began with the country’s border closure in March 2020. The announcement was delivered by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin during a press briefing held in Beijing on Monday.
In January, China terminated the mandatory quarantine for its citizens returning from abroad and has incrementally broadened the list of nations accessible to Chinese travelers, while simultaneously augmenting international flight options. This shift follows the conclusion of Beijing’s stringent domestic “zero COVID” strategy in December. This policy involved rigorous measures, such as city-wide lockdowns and lengthy quarantines, which had adverse effects on the economy, leading to increased unemployment and sporadic unrest.
Incoming travelers had previously been mandated to undergo weeks of isolation in government-designated hotels. In some cases, residents were forcibly confined to their homes as a means to curb virus transmission. This approach resulted in protests across major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Nanjing, reflecting the most direct challenge to the Communist Party’s authority since the 1989 Tiananmen protests.
The abrupt relaxation of COVID controls in early December led to a surge in infections that overwhelmed healthcare facilities. A recent U.S. study, funded by federal resources, suggests that the swift dismantling of the “zero COVID” policy possibly resulted in nearly 2 million excess deaths over the subsequent two months. This number significantly surpasses the official estimate of 60,000 deaths within the initial month of restrictions being lifted.
During the period of the “zero COVID” approach, local authorities occasionally imposed sudden lockdowns to isolate infections, confining individuals to offices and residential buildings. In a notable instance, Shanghai, home to 25 million people, underwent one of the world’s largest pandemic-related lockdowns from April to June the previous year. Residents were subjected to frequent PCR testing and had to rely on government-provided food supplies, which were frequently inadequate.
Throughout the pandemic, Beijing emphasized its “zero COVID” strategy, highlighting the comparatively lower infection rates as evidence of the superiority of China’s political system over Western democracies. However, since the relaxation of these measures, the government has faced challenges in reviving the economy. The combination of restrictions, diplomatic tensions with Western democracies including the United States, has prompted some foreign companies to scale down their investments in China.
