China set to resume issuing visas as it emerges from zero-Covid
- Visa-free entry will also resume for Hainan Island and for cruise ships that stop in Shanghai, and into Guangdong, for people from Hong Kong and Macau
- The move is the latest in a broader push to shed strict pandemic controls that have weighed on the country’s economic growth
China announced it will resume issuing nearly all types of visas for foreigners starting on March 15, another step in the country’s emergence from strict zero-Covid controls.
The country will also resume visa-free entry for several places, including Hainan Island and for cruise ships that stop in Shanghai, and into Guangdong, for people from Hong Kong and Macau, China’s embassy in the US said in a statement.
The move is the latest in a series of steps in a broader push by Communist Party leaders to shed the strict controls they implemented following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which have weighed on the country’s economic growth.
At a meeting of the national legislature this week, China’s new Premier Li Qiang called for more effort to meet a 5 per cent growth target for the year.
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China had already done away with quarantine rules for inbound travellers on January 8, a major step toward reopening its once-busy borders after nearly three years of closures.