As of Monday, China has fully vaccinated 74.8% of its population, while 82.5% of Chinese citizens have received at least one vaccine dose. This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Turning inward", Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents, Under Xi Jinping, he has had little chance to shine, But Chinas leaders are treading carefully for now, The countrys government is organised in a way that could help, Published since September 1843 to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.. Malls, restaurants and Main Street shops in U.S. border towns have been devastated by the lack of visitors from Mexico. Shares of Evergrande have fallen 48% in Hong Kong since the start of this year. Most foreigners have been kept out, and anyone who is able to get into the country must spend at least 14 days in strict hotel quarantine. List of countries for which the borders with Estonia are partially or completely open: As a result, opening up could pose challenges to hospitals, especially in rural areas. China's borders will likely remain shut for months, but some may be wary of visiting even after they reopen By Nectar Gan and Jessie Yeung, CNN Updated 2:39 AM EDT, Wed July 21, 2021 Link. I do not think the government will have trouble reaching its targets for vaccination rates. But there are also political considerations. Data from travel and analytics firm Cirium showed airlines are increasing flights between the United Kingdom and the U.S. by 21% this month over last month. Reopening with China is the key political and economic priority for the government, says Thomas. At present, more than 15 million people have been vaccinated in China. The people who want to open up international travel expats, people with families abroad unfortunately, thats a minority. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. List of countries for which the borders with Estonia are partially or completely open: If Hong Kong reopens to international travel, it almost certainly will see a spike in infections and lose all chance of reopening with China. Shares in Evergrande Group cratered a combined 25% on Monday and Tuesday in Hong Kong, wiping out some $5 billion in market value and sending the stock to its worst level in more than four years. China now issues a few visas for temporary business and family visits. We have made it very clear that our focus will be opening the border with the mainland. On Monday, the city increased the mandatory quarantine on Hong Kong residents returning from 16 countries, including the U.S., to 21 days. The economic costs of Chinas COVID-19 policies continue to mount with each new outbreak. The Asian giant was the first nation to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, because of which China . In the last year, I have hiked in five provinces, organised a week-long in-person meeting in a tropical botanical garden involving scientists from 20 academic institutions, and attended scores of live music and dance events, featuring maskless musicians playing to packed, maskless crowds. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Let them study online, Chinese officials tell diplomats who mention their plight. China is the last large country in the world with a zero-covid policy. Unlike smaller economies that rely heavily on cross-border capital flows, outside talent or international tourism, Covid-19border restrictions have not stopped China from roaring back into growth. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much 2023 Cable News Network. I n March 2020, . Their everyday movements will be tracked by a mandatory smartphone health code app, required for entry to office buildings, restaurants, shopping malls and train stations. CNNs Julia Buckley and Lilit Marcus contributed to this report. Its many dynasties have left their marks in world-famous heritage sites, such as the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors of Xian, and ancient towns such as Lijiang. Even if none of these reasons seems urgent, there is something of a hard deadline for substantial reopening to take place in time for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. For the newly qualified entrants . In March 2020, I wrote that life was returning to normal in China, but that other countries faced a longer wait. Zhong said that trying to keep the disease out of China forever may become futile, especially as a high nationwide vaccination rate renders the disease less dangerous. Zhongs comments are the first indication that China is tying its reopening plans to a vaccination goal. At the news conference on Tuesday, Lam argued that many Hong Kong-based companies do business in the mainland, which made the border reopening critical to the economy. The domestic propaganda machinery has spent months boasting of the superiority of Chinas authoritarian system in suppressing the virus. Canada will finally open its borders, first to Americans, beginning August 9 By Paula Newton, CNN Updated 5:28 PM EDT, Mon July 19, 2021 . See how we collect data and find out why not all countries are included in the statistics. This spring several embassies debated whether China should become a hardship posting reserved for diplomats without dependents. Beijing, where top leaders live, is off limits. All Rights Reserved. For the newly qualified entrants, entry depends on having received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines at least 14 days prior to entry. The pandemic has sped up those trendsas it has inspired at times nasty anti-Chinese racism abroad. All rights reserved. But quite a few have also had enough. The deep freeze on international tourism due to Covid restrictions has been tough on most Asian economies, but for China, borders closed to tourists is a net positive, according to Bloomberg Economics research. Jul 17th 2021 I T IS BECOMING clear that China will not, or perhaps cannot, re-open its borders soon. The existing 14-day quarantine will be replaced by a seven plus three program consisting of one week of hotel quarantine plus three days of home observation. A closed border also gives the Chinese government more control on who they want to let into the country. But there's one condition: they need to have received a China-made Covid-19 vaccine. Editors Note: Coronavirus cases remain high across the globe. Hong Kongs strict new quarantine rules will effectively close the city off from international travel for the foreseeable future at the same time that other major financial centers like New York, London, and Singapore have been pursuing reopening plans even amid the rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant. For a lot of people, this is starting to go on two years missing grandparents, births, deaths, birthdays, anniversaries, etc, one senior banker in Hong Kong told Reuters. Some provinces require additional quarantine upon arrival. Sue-Lin Wong: Correspondent, The Economist , This article appeared in the China section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2022 under the headline Closed, indefinitely, A global round-up from The Economist Intelligence Unit, As 2023 begins, the worlds most important climate system remains locked in La Nia, Published since September 1843 to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.. But the mainland authorities have refused. Terms & Conditions. Did you encounter any technical issues? Its a moving target, he said. 3:31 AM EDT, Fri October 8, 2021. On the boundary with Canada, cross-border hockey rivalries were community traditions until being upended by the pandemic. The Chinese government announced on May 31 it would allow married couples to have up to three children, instead of two. Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much But in order to err on the side of caution, and to prevent the spread of the disease, we have to [impose restrictions]Everything we are doing is to protect Hong Kong from another major outbreak.. By. China is facing a dilemma: how to reopen its borders to foreign visitors - as some other nations are considering doing - while stepping up its. Chan . Disney fans will also be pleased to hear that Shanghai Disney Resort is open as normal, albeit with some health precautions. https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-keep-covid-19-border-restrictions-for-another-year-11624361777. That may take a while.. Today (Saturday, 5 June 2021) the borders of China are fully open for 0/ 32 countries, partially open for 51/ 32 countries. How can the idea of a return to a normal state of affairs be articulated and realised by a state? But any further opening provokes nervousness. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam at the Legislative Council on October 6. Chinese airlines have said they expect tight restrictions on international flights to extend for the first half of the year. Finally, though open discussion of this question is taboo, the authorities are being oddly secretive about how well Chinese-made vaccines work. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of international students enrolled in Chinese universities have been barred from returning to the country, with many voicing frustrations on Twitter and tagging Chinese diplomats for help to no avail. When will China open its borders? It has had only a few new cases in recent months. To avoid that, China should prepare for a fundamental shift away from its "zero Covid" mindset once it achieves its 80 per cent vaccination target and reaches herd immunity by the end of the year . The fired Google engineer who thought its A.I. Equally, China may want to buy time for a locally made mRNA vaccine that is known to be in development. Perhaps China wants to protect domestic drugmakers from competition, suggest foreign diplomats. In the article, many respondents cited the ongoing detainment of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor as a primary source of their anxiety. When the virus does manage to seep into the country, Chinas government deploys neighborhood- or citywide lockdowns, mass testing, and intensive contact-tracing measures to find infections and halt outbreaks. These travelers are still required to take two PCR tests 24-48 hours before going to China (depending on their departure airport) and a pre-flight antigen test. Staying home is the best way to stem transmission. How harsh are Chinas COVID restrictions? The citys government is desperate to open its border with mainland China. Hong Kongs decision to follow suit means the diverse metropolis, once known for attracting international business and globetrotting expats, is instead retreating further into isolation. Now more than ever, players rightly see themselves as multi-faceted entrepreneurs, and seek ways to leverage their brands in everything from real estate to venture capital. Foreign companies in favoured sectors can secure visas for executives, or for engineers who are needed to build advanced manufacturing sites that China wants. Footage broadcast by state news agency Xinhua and shared widely online shows passengers in Zhengzhou trapped inside a flooded subway car, packed tightly together as the water climbs higher. This makes it hard for the party to reopen borders. Loved ones have missed holidays, birthdays and funerals while nonessential air travel was barred, and they are now eager to reconnect. The downgrade reflects Evergrandes weakened funding access and reduced liquidity buffer given its large debt maturities in the coming 12-18 months amid the tight credit environment in China and volatility in the capital markets, Cedric Lai, a vice president and senior analyst at Moodys, said in a statement at the time. China has reported 2.7 million cases and 15,133 deaths as of September 21, 2022. On Tuesday, Lam pointed to economic expansion in the first quarter to argue the city had not suffered badly from the tight restrictions. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. If they change their mind, that will be a sign that the party is finally ready to abandon its zero-covid policy. Hong Kongs new quarantine rules put the citys COVID-19 response more in line with mainland Chinas policies. Chinas Covid suppression has been maintained by nearly closed borders since March 2020. Official media published a story by a former health minister (whose background is in finance) expressing astonishment at the idea of easing controls. including those from China or Russia, will not be . Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. Nicholas Thomas, a professor of health governance at the City University of Hong Kong, says that such strict measures may be necessary to protect Hong Kong citizens from a new outbreak, especially owing to the fact that much of the city remains vulnerable to infection. Nationalism and impatience with foreign criticism were on the rise before covid-19. Or you can also apply a new visa to China. China won't open up after lockdown anytime soon 26 September 2021 Author: Nicholas Thomas, CityU What is normal in a post-pandemic world? Evergrande is one of Chinas most heavily indebted developers, with borrowings amounting to more than $100 billion by the end of 2020, according to its financial reports. Before the pandemic, about 300,000 people were crossing the border every day now its a tiny figure, meaning significantly less business for the retail and hospitality sectors. Chang Shu +Follow. And it means clinging onto the zero-Covid strategy, which is looking increasingly untenable in a world where Covid has become basically endemic, Thomas said. There will be CDC workers spot-checking travelers for compliance in the U.S. At land borders, Customs and Border Protection agents will check vaccine proof. Zhongs comments suggest that Chinas government may be warming to the idea of learning to live with COVID, marking another shift in stance. And Hong Kong has to be considered a safe place before the borders can reopen with China.. Churches that had members on both sides of the border are hoping to welcome parishioners they haven't seen during COVID-19 shutdown. At that time, Chinas top respiratory expert, Zhong Nanshan, revealed that the number inoculated was 3.56%, a proportion set to rise to 40% by the end of June. All rights reserved. Shanghai's neon skyline is one of China's modern wonders. Xi's China is closing to the world. Theres no plan of a specific date or anything at all.. Video. Airlines are expecting more travelers from Europe and elsewhere. "China used to be a place that was exciting and wild. The Covid-19 pandemic started in Chinas Hubei province, but early and strict lockdowns originally helped keep the virus under control. For the most part, citizens and residents could enter the city after serving 14- to 21-day quarantines. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices However, Chinas current border policy is having a cumulative long-term effect across the global economy. More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the U.K. and much . FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Meanwhile, China has returned to and maintained an essentially pre-Covid state becoming a kind of parallel universe. Today (Saturday, 5 June 2021) the borders of China are fully open for 0/ 32 countries, partially open for 51/ 32 countries. Many people in China like being covid-free. Their concerns include rules obliging all international arrivals, including children, to quarantine in a hotel for three weeks, and to enter an isolation clinic if they test positive. Bloomberg View columnist Barry Ritholtz looks at the people and ideas that shape markets, investing and business. Would-be travelers must be careful as flights can be canceled at the last minute. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices This means that all Hong Kong residentsexcept for those coming from mainland China, Macau, Taiwan, or New Zealandwill have to spend at least 14 days in quarantine upon arrival regardless of vaccination status. On Sunday, Zhong Nanshan, one of Chinas top epidemiologists and government advisers, suggested that the country may begin to loosen its COVID-zero restrictions by the end of the year and learn to live with the virusa potential change in tack for a country that has not budged from its mission to eliminate every single case of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Subscribe to Fortune Dailyto get essential business stories straight to your inbox each morning. The reasons are many. China opens its borders to foreigners who take Chinese shots, as geopolitical vaccine silos emerge By Julia Hollingsworth, CNN Updated 1:40 AM EDT, Sat March 20, 2021 Link Copied! If youre in Beijing, you may want to visit this restaurant in a former temple. Tue 1 Jun 2021 09.00 EDT Last modified on Tue 1 Jun 2021 14.36 EDT. Most people in China would happily stay in this parallel universe for another five years. Measures imposed against outbreaks in places like the eastern Fujian province or southern Guangzhou city have contained the virus, even as Delta has stymied virus response systems in other countries with zero tolerance for infections, like Vietnam and Australia. This week, it further clarified that the change although not yet legislated has already been effective since the announcement, amid confusion over its implementation. Border reopening could bring back tourism deficits for them, dragging on GDP growth, according to Shu. Chinas COVID-zero playbook for battling the virus has proved successful against the Delta variant of COVID-19. Hordes of Chinese tourists are now only found in China. China is building a wall (or fortified fence) along its border with Myanmar (Asia Times, 19 December 2020). The vaccination campaign . The party may even choose to wait until after the annual parliamentary meeting in March 2023 to relax border controls, suggests Huang Yanzhong of the Council for Foreign Relations, an American think-tank. China wants 80% of its population vaccinated by the end of 2021. In the face of intense criticism, the government has repeatedly defended its course of action. China is making it easier for foreigners to enter the country. Those failing the checks will be sent to government facilities. Theyre willing to give up leisure travel for public health., But pandemic fatigue has long set in, and theres no telling when the governments bet on China will pay off. As of May 20, travelers from the United States and Canada no longer have to take a PCR test seven days before flying to China. China cannot carry on like this because COVID-19 is a global disease that requires China and the rest of the world to work together and beat it, he said. From January 8, 2023, China restarted its visa-free policy. Daniel Falush is a professor at the Center for Microbes, Development and Health at the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, In rich countries, vaccines are making Covid-19 a manageable health issue | Devi Sridhar, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Regional lockdowns have been imposed every time there are new outbreaks of the virus. Chinas 350kmph driverless bullet train should be top of your list. Those with a head for heights should make an appointment with the horizontal skyscraper. This is of course one of the worlds greatest ancient civilizations. And, Chan claimed, the majority of Hong Kongers are happy with things as they are. Sign up here. Terms & Conditions. Feel the need for speed? The Winter Olympics start in and around Beijing in February, followed by the annual session of Chinas rubber-stamp parliament. Updated: 12:08pm, 24 Jul, 2021. In August, analysts at Goldman Sachs, Nomura, and other banks downgraded Chinas GDP forecasts because of Delta-driven waves in places such as Guangzhou and elsewhere. There are a few reasons why Hong Kong has made this decision, said Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor at the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. Below is information on what to know if you still plan to travel, last updated on September 21. Yet the government has stood firm repeatedly emphasizing that its priority is reopening its border with mainland China, not with the rest of the world. And it isn't just about borders Analysis by Nectar Gan, CNN Updated 8:02 PM EST, Mon November 15, 2021 Link Copied! By Sue-Lin Wong: Correspondent, The Economist. Last month, the border cracked open somewhat but only one way, allowing some Chinese residents to enter Hong Kong without quarantine, not vice versa. Hong Kongs tight border controls proved effective in keeping the virus at bay, and the city has registered 212 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, compared with over 33,000 deaths in New York City and 15,000 deaths in London. According to a draft policy document released by Chinas Ministry of Culture and Tourism on September 19, tour groups organized by travel agencies in Chinas border areas will be able to choose their port of entry and exit flexibly.. Mainland China is currently deploying measures like strict lockdowns while battling its own Delta-driven COVID-19 outbreaks, even as it has provided enough vaccine doses to inoculate two-thirds of its population. The five-yearly party congress in late 2022 is expected to confirm Xi Jinping as the countrys leader for at least another five years. All rights reserved. International tourism, both inbound and outbound, has ground to a halt. But if it continues on its current path, theres no telling when China will feel confident enough to reopen the border, or what criteria Hong Kong needs to meet leaving the city at the whim of the central government, simply waiting to be allowed in. If youre planning a trip to China, heres what youll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic. Hong Kong has banned all noncitizens and nonresidents since the spring of 2020. May 14, 2021, 2:57 AM UTC. All Rights Reserved. Travelers at Shenzhen Bay Immigration Control Point in Hong Kong on September 15. Mutual distrust will be hard to overcome until China re-opens. Beijing is planning to keep its pandemic border restrictions in place for at least another year as officials fret over the emergence of new variants and a calendar of sensitive events,. Images of mask-less Westerners on crowded beaches or rampaging at anti-lockdown protests are a staple of Chinese news coverage. Sign up here. Rigorous testing and 20 million vaccinations a day might see Beijing ready to host the Winter Olympics 2022. Visits by political leaders from abroad have largely ceased. Hong Kong CNN It's been nearly. This opacity is a problem. appreciated. Anecdote by anecdote, evidence is mounting that foreigners, whether suspected of bearing dangerous germs or ideas, are becoming less welcome. This was followed by the citys Tuesday announcement that the vast majority of vaccinated residents returning to the city from the rest of the world should serve 14-day hotel quarantines before entering the city. At present, most visitors are not yet allowed entry to the country. A single case can lead to city-wide testing and lockdown.