Chinese lockdowns and early detection significantly slowed the spread of Covid-19, which started in Hubei province. For a while, China barred most visitors from entering, and it wasn't until the spread of the virus slowed down that China opened its doors again.

However, the looming threat of Omicron has once again prompted China to tighten its travel rules for foreigners entering the city. Tianjin and Guangzhou were the first cities to report cases of Omicron in December, and they both occurred among individuals returning from trips abroad. As of December 22nd, regional tourism within Yunnan Province has been suspended indefinitely.

After detecting three cases of Omicron in overseas travelers, the government took action. As of January 5th, the government canceled all international flights in and out of Xi'an airport indefinitely. Macao also banned inbound passenger flights from outside China for two weeks, starting on January 6th.

China Is Starting to Ease Restrictions

Now, Qin Gang, the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, confirmed Beijing is preparing to relax its travel regulations for US business executives. During a dinner hosted by the US-China Business Council, Qin Gang said Beijing will also make the COVID-19 testing process more convenient for executives and allow them to work during quarantine.

Beijing's envoy promised more positive energy into bilateral ties and “fast-track” flights between the US and China in response to business concerns. Chinese officials will also shorten the time necessary for US executives to travel to a week-and-a-half and will be more receptive to complaints from business leaders about the current travel regulations.

The ambassador further stated that China would soon send a working plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how it intends to reduce the time needed for travel approval. China plans to reduce the time necessary to ten days or less.

According to Qin, US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping conducted a productive virtual summit last month. They discussed ways to facilitate flights to China and how Beijing wants to inject more positive energy into its relationship with the US. Qin said Beijing was following President Xi Jinping's advice about enhancing "fast track" travel arrangements, responding to American concerns about resuming business travel, and is focusing on building on Xi and Biden's recent virtual summit.

Ambassador Qin called for greater cooperation in manufacturing, financial services, and the energy sector as well. In addition, he reiterated Beijing's call for Washington to cancel the additional tariffs levied by the administration of former President Donald Trump on Chinese goods.

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