China: China announced that all types of visas will once again be issued, reopening its borders to international travellers for the first time in the three years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following last month’s declaration of victory by authorities over a recent COVID-19 outbreak, this final cross-border control measure has been lifted. A $17 trillion economy that last year experienced one of its worst rates of growth in nearly 50 years should be revitalised by the boost to the tourism industry.

Visa-free entrance will once again be available in parts of China that did not require them before the outbreak, the foreign ministry announced. This will include cruise ships travelling via Shanghai port and the southern tourist island of Hainan.

The practice of allowing visitors from Hong Kong and Macau to enter the southern manufacturing heartland of Guangdong without a visa will also be reinstated. Foreign nationals having valid visas obtained before March 28th, 2020, according to the ministry, will also be permitted entry into China.

China added 40 more nations to its list of those where group excursions are permitted, raising the total to 60, after withdrawing its advice to people against travelling abroad in January 2023. In response to COVID-19, China achieved a “smooth transition” in less than two months, as per new Premier Mr. Li Qiang, who also claimed that all of China’s strategies and actions had been ideal.

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