China bids COVID farewell, reopens border

Protesters against China zero Covid-19 policy

Protesters against China zero Covid-19 policy

Beijing, China has finally reopened its borders to the world after three years closure since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes after historic protests against the policy that included frequent testing, curbs on movement and mass lockdowns.

Travellers began streaming across land and sea crossings from Hong Kong to mainland China on Sunday, many eager for long-awaited reunions.

Hong Kong resident Teresa Chow said “I’m so happy, so happy, so excited. I haven’t seen my parents for many years. My parents are not in good health, and I couldn’t go back to see them even when they had colon cancer, so I’m really happy to go back and see them now”, adding that she plans to head to her hometown in eastern China’s Ningbo city.

Investors hope the reopening will eventually reinvigorate a $ 17 trillion economy suffering its lowest growth in nearly half a century.

But the abrupt policy reversal has triggered a massive wave of infections that is overwhelming some hospitals and causing business disruptions.

The border opening follows Saturday’s start of “chun yun”, the first 40-day period of Lunar New Year travel, which before the pandemic was the world’s largest annual migration of people returning to their hometowns of taking holidays with family.

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Many Chinese are also expected to begin traveling abroad, a long-awaited shift for destinations such as Thailand and Indonesia.

Travel will not quickly return to pre-pandemic levels due to such factors as a dearth of international flights, analysts say.

China also resumed issuing passports and travel visas to mainland residents, as well as ordinary visas and residence permits to foreigners. Beijing has quotas on the number of people who can travel between Hong Kong and China each day.

Videos shared on Chinese social media showed workers at Shanghai’s Pudong airport overnight removing bright blue signs denoting paths through its international terminal to enforce a policy that required foreign visitors to quarantine for up to eight days after their arrival.

Other videos showed people hugging emotionally upon reuniting at the airport gate.

Reuters

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