China: after the end of “zero Covid”, the country resumes issuing visas
Tourists in front of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
China announces the resumption of visa issuance from tomorrow, Wednesday March 15, 2023. FRED DUFOUR / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
China announces the resumption of visa issuance starting tomorrow, Wednesday, March 15.
A decision which comes within the framework of the country's reopening policy following the suspension of health restrictions, known as "zero Covid-19" at the start of the year.
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With our correspondent in Beijing,
Stéphane Lagarde
This announcement made by
Chinese embassies and consulates
, particularly in the United States and Europe, was awaited by tourism professionals and businesses, who have been calling for this resumption of human exchanges between China and the rest of the world for several months now. .
salutary gesture
After the abolition of quarantine rules - at the entrance to the country - on January 8, the issuance of visas resumes in particular for travelers from Southeast Asia.
A salutary gesture tells us Mr. Li, guide to the Guilin region and its magnificent karst peaks in the south of the country, who saw his income collapse during the three years of "zero Covid": "Today, we do
n't We have almost more foreign tourists here, it's only foreigners who work in China who come from time to time.
»
“
A few more months
”
“
The visa procedures have resumed but for the moment it is not moving
, says Mr. Li again.
With the bad political relations between China and the United States but also the economic problems, I do not expect a change for a few more months.
»
The authorities announce the resumption of visa-free entry for travelers from Hong Kong and Macao, cruising in Shanghai and Guangdong.
According to official statistics, nearly 116 million entries and exits were recorded in 2022, less than a fifth of those made in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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To read also
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Tourism: China relaunches group travel to 20 “friendly” countries
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