Foreign media: "Chinese cities represented by Beijing are recovering their vitality"

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, December 31st.

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter

　　"As China's economy recovers from the three-year COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing's streets are congested again and tourists scramble to book vacations abroad, and businesses expect business activity to pick up." The Financial Times reported on the 29th.

　　"In Beijing and Shanghai, commuters wearing masks once again crowded the subway trains. Traffic jams appeared on the main roads of the cities, and commuting vehicles could only move slowly." Reuters reported on the 26th, "People's lives are gradually recovering. normal".

　　Recently, China's epidemic prevention and control has entered a new stage.

With the adjustment of the epidemic prevention and control policy, many overseas media have noticed that the production and life of Chinese cities represented by Beijing are gradually returning to normal in an orderly manner, and they are "resuming vitality."

"People's lives are gradually returning to normal"

　　Against the background of the weakening of the pathogenicity of Omicron virus, the popularization of vaccination and the accumulation of experience in prevention and control, China has successively issued the "Twenty Measures" and "New Ten Measures" optimization measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection. Adjust from "Class B and A management" to "B and B management" plan, shift the focus from infection prevention and control to medical treatment, and minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development.

　　Some foreign media recently published articles saying that Beijing, which has passed the peak of the epidemic, has seen a significant improvement in urban transportation and personnel flow, releasing a positive signal of recovery.

　　The US Consumer News and Business Channel website quoted Baidu data on the 26th and said that during the peak period on Monday morning, the traffic flow in Beijing increased by about 90% compared with a week ago, reaching the level of "serious congestion".

　　The media reported on the 25th that in the past weekend, the number of ticket reservations for scenic spots in Beijing doubled compared with last weekend.

　　"In addition to Beijing, social activities in many other regions are also recovering. Road traffic in Chengdu and Chongqing has increased significantly, and the degree of congestion is comparable to that of Beijing." The US Consumer News and Business Channel website reported on the 26th.

　　The fireworks are returning in some cities.

Reuters recently reported that people waited in line for weekend events at Shanghai Disneyland and Universal Beijing Resort; hotel traffic at the resorts rose significantly to "moderately crowded" levels.

　　"People have basically returned to normal life." Reuters recently quoted an interviewed Beijing resident as saying.

　　EFE reported a few days ago that some shopping centers in Beijing have resumed their usual crowds; Beijing's health system is about to see "the light at the end of the tunnel".

　　According to the analysis of the British "Financial Times", investors expect that other parts of China will soon follow Beijing's pace.

“Hopefully it will be easy to travel to Beijing again soon”

　　At the beginning of this month, with the implementation of the "New Ten Measures", people's travel quickly resumed.

According to data from multiple domestic platforms, the search volume for air tickets and train tickets has skyrocketed in an instant, and the search volume for air tickets during the Spring Festival travel season has reached the pre-epidemic level.

　　Reuters quoted a report released by the Ctrip platform on the 23rd, saying that during the New Year's Day holiday, China's inter-provincial travel bookings increased by 34% year-on-year.

"Ten popular tourist cities include Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Sanya".

　　The joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council of China announced on the 26th that it will cancel the nucleic acid testing and centralized isolation of all staff after entry.

According to a report by the Latin American News Agency on December 28, after adjusting and optimizing prevention and control measures and allowing larger population movements, China announced on the 28th a plan to restore the vitality of the tourism industry (mainly domestic tourism) in the short term.

　　Efe News Agency reported on the 14th that according to a report by the China Tourism Academy under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, China will usher in a "significant recovery" in inbound tourism in 2023.

　　The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism issued a notice to resume travel agencies and online travel companies to operate group tours in Beijing, inter-provincial group tours in and out of Beijing, and "air ticket + hotel" business from the 13th.

　　China's adjustment of epidemic prevention and control measures has brought about a rebound in air travel, which has attracted widespread attention from foreign media.

According to the South China Morning Post, flights from Hong Kong to major mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing are the most popular.

　　"Everyone hopes to travel to Beijing easily again soon." Felix Suter, president of the Swiss-Chinese Economic Association, said in a recent media interview.

　　Jeremiah Huang, senior marketing communications manager of Singapore's Chen Brothers Travel Agency, said in an interview with the media earlier that the travel agency has received inquiries from enthusiastic tourists who want to know when they can travel to China again.

　　The U.S. oil price website recently quoted an airline manager as saying: "In recent weeks, domestic flights are estimated to have returned to 60% to 80% of pre-pandemic levels."

　　"The first wave of infected people in China is gradually recovering, and the demand for travel in many places has picked up." Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" said on the 24th.

The Financial Times reported that “a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China this month said that more than 70% of respondents expected the impact of the epidemic to last no longer than three months.”

"Ready for Chinese Tourists"

　　The National Immigration Administration issued an announcement on the 27th to optimize immigration management policies and measures from January 8, 2023, to resume the issuance of entry and exit passes of the People's Republic of China, and to resume the issuance of entry and exit passes for border areas.

　　The announcement was "very, very welcome," Tom Simpson, head of China at the China-Britain Business Council, told AFP.

Switzerland's "New Zurich Zeitung" website reported on the 27th that the Swiss National Tourism Administration stated that China's gradual opening of its borders is a long-awaited and very welcome step.

　　The Associated Press predicted on the 29th that this may cause a large number of Chinese tourists to go abroad in large numbers during the Lunar New Year holiday next month.

　　Foreign media also reported government statements and epidemiological experts’ analysis from some countries, arguing that concerns about the risk of the novel coronavirus spillover in mainland China are not based on science, and the global movement of Chinese people will not exacerbate the spread of the novel coronavirus in various countries.

　　Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" reported on the 29th that Indonesia stated that it currently has no plans to change the entry regulations for Chinese tourists.

Reuters reported on the 29th that Australia has not changed the rules allowing Chinese tourists to enter the country.

　　According to a report on the Bloomberg News website on December 27, being able to travel in and out of China more easily could benefit many countries around the world that rely on Chinese tourists.

　　Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" reported that the relevant person in charge of the country's airline said that it "very welcomes" the adjustment of China's entry policy, and looks forward to providing more convenient air travel services for passengers from Singapore and China.

　　Reuters reported on the 29th that Asian countries are preparing for the influx of Chinese tourists, and tourism operators in many countries have also prepared products such as hot pot buffets that are popular among Chinese people.

　　"Before the epidemic, China was the world's largest source of outbound tourists, with 150 million tourists going abroad every year." Steve Saxon, director of Asia tourism at McKinsey, a world-renowned consulting firm, said in an interview with the media that by the summer of 2023, The proportion of Chinese tourists traveling abroad will jump to about 50% from 5% last month in 2019.