china covid policy travel 2023

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Traveling to China After Reopening – What’s Changed?

We offer the latest advice on traveling to China in 2023, including information on current Chinese visa application requirements, pre-flight testing, and travel tips.

UPDATE (November 1, 2023): China Customs announced that it will no longer require people leaving and entering China to fill in the Entry/Exit Health Declaration Card. This decision means that from this day forward, there are no more  COVID-era restrictions and requirements for travelers leaving and entering the country. However, anyone leaving or entering China who shows symptoms of or who has been diagnosed with an infectious disease is still required to declare their health status to Customs of their own volition. See our article for more details on this news here .

UPDATE (September 20, 2023): In a bid to attract more international visitors, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) introduced a simplified visa application process on September 20, 2023. This revision primarily focuses on the visa application form and entails two significant changes. Firstly, applicants are now required to list their travel history from the past year instead of the previous five years. Secondly, the educational background section has been streamlined to only request the highest level of education achieved.

These adjustments, according to MFA spokesperson Mao Ning, are intended to reduce the time applicants spend on visa forms and enhance overall efficiency. The MFA reaffirmed its dedication to fostering people-to-people interactions between China and other countries, emphasizing China’s commitment to high-quality development and global engagement.

UPDATE (August 28, 2023):  The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made a significant declaration that starting from August 30, 2023, travelers heading to China will not have to undergo mandatory pre-entry COVID-19 nucleic acid tests or antigen tests.

In March 2023, China announced that it had resumed issuing all types of visas , giving the official greenlight for foreign travelers and tourists to return to the country. This announcement followed months of gradual dismantling of COVID-19 travel restrictions, which saw the lifting of quarantines, vaccine and testing requirements, and travel codes.  

Domestic and international travel requirements have since been further relaxed so that there are currently almost no additional steps to take in relation to COVID-19 in order to travel to China.  

However, foreign travelers may still be confused when planning for their China trip, as it adopted a progressive approach for lifting restrictions, and the latest information is scattered across a series of announcements. Below we answer some common questions on China travel after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

Which Chinese visas are currently available?  

China resumed issuing all types of visas in March 2023. All of the same types of visas that were available prior to the pandemic are now available for application again.  

The visas that are currently available to travel to China are listed in the table below.  

Note that if you obtain a long-term visa, such as a work or student visa, you are required to convert the visa into a residence permit within a prescribed period of time, usually 30 days.

Is my 10 – year C hinese visa still valid?  

All multiple entry visas that were issued before March 28, 2020, that are still within the validity date can now be used to travel to China again . This includes 10-year visitor visas issued to citizens of the US and other countries. Note that you are usually only able to stay in China for a period of up to 60 days on this type of visa, and you will need to apply for another long-stay visa if you wish to stay longer than 60 days. 

I f the visa has expired since March 28, 2020 , you will be required to apply for a new visa before you can travel to China.  

How do I apply for a Chinese tourist visa in 2023?  

In most cases, foreigners must apply for a visa in order to travel to China. This is done through your nearest Chinese Visa Application Service Center, not the consulate or embassy. You must either be a citizen or have residency or another right to stay (such as a visa) in the country in which you are applying for the Chinese visa.

The requirements to apply for a visa vary depending on the type of visa you are applying for and the location in which you apply for it. It is therefore important to check the website of your local Chinese Visa Application Service Center for application requirements.  

Note that the duration of short-stay visas, such as tourism or business visas, can also vary depending on your specific situation, where you apply, and your nationality.  

China does offer some visa-free options for short-term travel. These include 144-hour , 72-hour, and 24-hour visa-free transit, which allows foreign travelers to enter China through designated ports and travel around a limited area for up to six days, provided they are continuing on to a third country after departing the country.  

At the end of November 2023, China also announced a 15-day visa-free entry policy for holders of ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, during the period from December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024.

For more information on visa-free travel to China, see our Complete Guide to China’s Visa-Free Policies .  

What are the COVID-19 testing requirements to travel to China?  

There are no longer any COVID-19 testing requirements to enter or leave China. Starting from August 30, 2023, travelers bound for China were no longer required to undergo COVID-19 nucleic acid tests or antigen tests before their departure. In addition, from November 1, 2023, onward, China Customs ceased requiring travelers to fill in and show the Entry/Exit Health Declaration Card , removing the last COVID-era travel requirement.

In its announcement scrapping the health declaration card requirement, China Customs emphasized that people leaving and entering China who show symptoms of or who have been diagnosed with an infectious disease are still required to declare their health situation to Customs of their own volition. Symptoms may include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, or unexplained subcutaneous bleeding, according to the notice. This has been a requirement since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you report any symptoms, you may be taken aside for additional testing. If you test positive for COVID-19, you will be permitted to recover in your place of stay or seek medical help if required.

It’s important to stay updated with any further announcements or changes that may arise, as travel guidelines and policies can evolve in response to the ongoing global situation. Travelers are advised to refer to official sources such as the Chinese government’s official websites and diplomatic channels for the most accurate and up-to-date information before planning their trips to China.

Are there any restrictions on traveling within China?  

China has removed all domestic travel restrictions, meaning that people are now free to cross provincial and regional borders without having to show negative COVID-19 tests or health codes.  

Note that if you enter China on one of the short-term transit entry permits, you are not permitted to travel outside a certain designated area, which will depend on your port of entry. For information on where you can travel on this entry permit, see our article here .  

Do I need to take any COVID-19 precautions while traveling in China?  

COVID-19 is still present in China, and it is therefore advisable to take common sense prevention measures when traveling around the country. These precautions are the same as the ones you would take in other countries and include regularly washing your hands or using hand sanitizer, wearing a mask in public, and avoiding crowded areas where possible, among others.  

Mask mandates on public transport and in public areas, such as restaurants, bars, stores, malls, and parks, have been removed. However, the government still advises people to wear them of their own volition.  

Wearing a mask is still mandatory in nursing homes and medical institutions. You should also wear a mask if you test positive for COVID-19.  

What happens if I test positive for COVID-19 while in China?  

You are no longer required to go to a quarantine facility if you test positive for COVID-19.

The current official advice in China if you test positive for COVID-19 is to self-isolate at home if you are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. If you have moderate to severe symptoms, you should seek medical help, and you may be hospitalized if your condition is serious.    

It is advisable to purchase medical insurance before traveling to China, as staff in public health institutions may only speak Chinese and private healthcare is very expensive.  

It is also advisable to bring fever medicine, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, as you may not be able to buy the same brands you are used to taking in your home country, and staff at pharmacies usually only speak Chinese.  

(This article was originally published on June 9, 2023 , and was last updated on November 29 , 2023.)

China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates . The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done so since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at [email protected] .

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China Travel Restrictions & Travel Advisory (Updated March 7, 2024)

Updates March 7th, 2024 : Travelers from the following countries could enjoy visa-free entry to China for tourism, business, transit, or visiting friends and relatives. 

• From December 1st, 2023, to November 30th, 2024: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain.
• From March 14th to November 30th, 2024: Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
• Singapore, Brunei
• Malaysia (from December 1st, 2023 to November 30th, 2024)

If you want to arrange a private tour, even tentatively, simply contact us . 

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• What Ways to Enter China
• Do I Still Need a PCR Test to Enter China
• Hong Kong/Macau Travel Restriction

International Flights to China

What to expect when traveling in china, best times to travel to china, 8 ways to enter china: all open now.

Since China has fully permitted visa applications, there are now several ways to enter the country.

If you still hold a valid Chinese visa (any type including a tourist visa, 10-year visa, etc.), you can use it to enter China.

If you don't have a Chinese visa or your visa has expired, you can apply for a new one. All visas can now be applied for, including tourist visas, business visas, work visas, and so on. (International visitors can apply for a tourist visa to the Chinese Mainland in Hong Kong.)

For the documents required for a visa application, you can refer to the information given by a Chinese embassy/consulate . Please submit your application at least two months in advance.

To apply for a tourist visa (L visa), you will be asked to provide an invitation letter issued by a Chinese travel agency or individual or round-trip air tickets and hotel bookings.

When booking a private tour with us, we can provide you with an invitation letter, which is one more thing we do to make your travel more convenient, giving you more flexibility with your air tickets and hotel bookings.

Now it is very easy to apply for a visa . You can easily apply by yourself without an intermediary. The following is how one of our clients successfully applied for a Chinese tourist visa:

• First, fill out the form at the China Online Visa Application website ;
• Second, make an appointment on this website to submit your visa materials on Appointment for Visa Application Submission website ;
• Third, take the required documents to the embassy to submit;
• Finally, you will get a return receipt if your documents are qualified.

Usually, you will get your visa after 7 working days. The application fee is about USD185 for US citizens.

Q: What if my passport expires but my visa doesn't?

A: You can travel to China on the expired passport containing valid Chinese visa in combination with the new passport, provided that the identity information (name, date of birth, gender, nationality) on both passport identical.

If there is a change to any of the above details, you must apply for a new visa.

2. 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy

If you do not apply for a Chinese visa, you may still have the opportunity to visit these areas of China visa free: the Shanghai area (including Suzhou, Hangzhou, etc.), the Beijing area (with Tianjin and Hebei), the Guangzhou area (Shenzhen, Zhuhai, etc.), and more. Take advantage of the 6-day visa-free entitlements.

Find out if you could use the 144-hour visa-free transit policy with our information on China's 144-hour Visa-Free Policy (Eligible Entry/Exit Ports, Applicable Countries, Documents to be Prepared...)

You can also obtain entry and exit control policies through the 24-hour hotline of the National Immigration Administration:

• Beijing: 0086 (+86)-10-12367
• Shanghai: 0086 (+86)-21-12367
• Guangzhou: 0086 (+86)-20-12367

Quick Test: Will My Route Qualify for China 72/144-Hour Visa-Free Transit?

1. I will depart from (only applies to direct or connected flight):

2. I will arrive in China at [city], [airport / railway station / port].

3. My arrival date is...

4. I will leave for [country/region] from China (the bounding destination on the air ticket):

5. My departure date is...

6. My nationality is...

8. I have Chinese visa refusal stamps in my passport.

You qualify to enjoy China's 72-hour visa-free policy.

You qualify to enjoy China's 144-hour visa-free policy.

You don't qualify to enjoy China's 72-hour or 144-hour visa-free policy.

Reason you don't qualify:

• You must be in transit to a third country or region.
• You must leave the city area (prefecture or municipality) after the 72/144 hours (the 72/144-hour limit is calculated starting from 00:00 on the day after arrival, i.e. 24:00 on the arrival date).
• Your passport must be valid for more than 3 months at the time of entry into China.
• Your passport nationality is not eligible for the 72/144-hour visa exemption program.
• You have Chinese visa refusal stamps in your passport.

3. Port Visas (Landing Visas)

If you don't have time to get a visa, or if you find it cumbersome to apply for a tourist visa, you could consider traveling to China through a port visa.

Port visas can be applied for a group at least including 2 people. You need to enter the country within 15 days after you get your entry permit. The port visa allows a stay period of 1 to 2 months.

Applicable ports include Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Guilin, Xi'an, Chengdu, etc.

Note: Tourists from America are not granted a port visa in Shanghai.

Book your China trip with us and we can help you apply for a port visa.

4. Visa Exemption for ASEAN Tour Groups to Guilin

In addition, tour groups from ASEAN member countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei, and the Philippines, can visit Guilin for 144 hours without visas as long as they meet the visa-free transit policy requirements.

5. Shanghai Visa-Free Policy for Cruise Groups

Shanghai has a 15-day visa-free policy for foreign tourist groups entering China via a cruise. You must arrive and depart on the same cruise and be received by a Chinese travel agent at the Shanghai Cruise Terminal (or Wusong Passenger Center).

6. Hainan Visa-Free Access

No visa is required for staying on Hainan Island for up to 30 days for ordinary passport holders from 59 countries. Groups and individual tourists must book a tour through an accredited travel agency.

Find out whether you qualify for the policy here .

7. Visa Exemption for the Pearl River Delta Area

International travelers from Hong Kong or Macau are able to visit the Pearl River Delta area (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, etc.) visa-free as long as they go with a registered tour provider, such as us.

8. APEC Cards

If you hold a valid APEC business travel card, you can simply enter China with the card without applying for a visa.

Travelers who hold a valid APEC business travel card can stay in China for up to 60 days.

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Do I Still Need a PCR Test or Antigen Self-Test to Enter China

No. Starting from August 30, all travelers entering China will no longer need to undergo any COVID-19 testing. You do not need to submit any test results for COVID-19 before departure.

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Hong Kong / Macau Travel Restriction

Hong kong entry requirements.

Travelers from any region bound for Hong Kong will no longer need to take pre-flight COVID-19 tests (no PCR test, no RAT test) from April 1.

There is also no need for any tests when traveling from Hong Kong to the Chinese Mainland. Hong Kong could be a good gateway for your China trip. See suggestions on China Itineraries from Hong Kong (from 1 Week to 3 Weeks).

Direct high-speed trains from Guangzhou and Shenzhen to Hong Kong are available now. In preparation for the Canton Fair, it is expected that direct high-speed ferries will be launched from Guangzhou Pazhou Port to Hong Kong's airport in mid-April.

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Macau Entry Requirement

From August 30, travelers from any region bound for Macau will no longer need to take pre-flight COVID-19 tests (no PCR test, no RAT test).

There is also no need for any tests when traveling from Macau to the Chinese Mainland.

Inbound and outbound international flights in the week beginning March 6th rose by more than 350% compared with a year earlier, to nearly 2,500 flights, according to Chinese flight tracking data from APP Flight Master.

At present, there are one or two direct flights a week from New York to Shanghai, Los Angeles to Beijing, Seattle to Shanghai, London to Guangzhou, etc.

There are also many flight options with stopovers that are more frequent and affordable. Testing at transit airports is now not required!

The Coronavirus outbreak in China has subsided. China looks like it did in 2019 again. No special measures (like PCR tests or health codes) are required when traveling around China. All attractions are open as normal.

Wearing a mask is not mandatory when traveling. In hotels, masks are off for the most part. But in some crowded places, such as airports or subway stations, many people still wear masks.

Weather-wise, the best times to visit China are spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October), when most of the popular places have their most tourism-friendly weather, except for the "golden weeks" — the first week of May and of October — when most attractions are flooded with Chinese tourists.

If you are looking for smaller crowds, favorable prices, and still good weather, you should consider March and April or September.

Tourism in cultural and historical destinations like Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an is hardly affected by weather conditions. They are suitable to be visited all year round.

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Starting from January 8 , 2023, COVID-19 will be managed as a Class B infectious disease in China, and border control measures will be adjusted accordingly. China-bound travelers are advised to read the following information on the adjustment to facilitate traveling :

1.Nucleic Acid Test

Travelers are required to take nucleic acid test within 48 hours before flight departure, and can only take flight when the test result is negative.

2.Health Code

Travelers are no longer required to obtain health code from the Chinese Embassy or Consulates General in the US before  departure.

3.Health Declaration to China Customs

Travelers need to declare the negative test result to China  Customs by filling the Health Declaration Form either on Wechat mini-program of China Customs (scan the QR code below) ， or at https://htdecl.chinaport.gov.cn/htdeclweb/home/pages/healthDeclare/declare.html , or via the China Customs APP.

4.Entr y Inspection

There will be no nucleic acid test when travelers enter China,  and no quarantine for those whose health declaration and entry inspection produce normal results. In case of a  positive test result or any symptoms such as fever detected by  China Customs, travelers will take an antigen test. Those who test positive in the test will need to self-quarantine.

The above measures will be effective for all passengers arriving  in China after 12:00 am (includ ed ) on January 8 ,  2023.

Given the ongoing pandemic, the above adjustments do not mean the easing of disease control. Travelers are advised to take primary responsibility for their health, and use precautionary measures for self-protection. The Chinese  government will continue to monitor the latest trends of the  pandemic, and adjust the disease control practices accordingly to facilitate entry and exit of personnel.

China reopens borders in final farewell to zero-COVID

Visitors, homecomings.

CONCERNS OVER RURAL AREAS

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Reporting by Joyce Zhou in Hong Kong, Yew Lun Tian and Josh Arslan in Beijing; Additional reporting by Tony Munroe in Hong Kong; Yingzhi Yang and Eve Wu in Beijing; Writing by Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by William Mallard

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Joyce is a talented visual journalist based in Hong Kong and Greater China, driven by a profound passion for capturing historical moments and sharing stories through the medium of video. Her exceptional skills and dedication to her craft earned her the prestigious title of Reuters Video Journalist of the Year in 2019. Joyce's work revolves around documenting significant events and exploring the rich cultural tapestry of the region. Outside of her professional pursuits, she finds solace and inspiration in hiking, immersing herself in the beauty of nature. With a deep appreciation for tea, Joyce enjoys discovering its diverse flavours and delving into its rich history.

Yew Lun Tian reports on China's politics, diplomacy, security and society. She was previously Beijing bureau chief for a Singapore paper Lianhe Zaobao.

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China’s Tourists Can Travel Again. Here’s Why the World Is Still Waiting for the Rebound

N estled among the crumbling stupas of Laos’s ancient capital Luang Prabang, 525 Cocktails and Tapas was the city’s premier fine dining establishment, serving elevated local cuisine and perhaps Southeast Asia’s yummiest smoked negroni.

Foreign visitors comprised 95% of the restaurant’s footfall, and with tourist numbers to Laos breaking records year-on-year, plus a new high-speed train route due to link the landlocked nation with China’s city of Kunming to the north and Singapore to the south, business was looking up.

Then the pandemic struck. With borders sealed shut, 525’s British proprietor Andrew Sykes had no choice but to suspend operations, instead pivoting to local clientele by opening new premises in Laos’s modern capital, Vientiane. “The business is going very well,” says Sykes. “I will reopen in Luang Prabang but just not quite yet.”

Laos flung open its borders to visitors in May but the uptick in foreign arrivals has been torpid. Many in the hospitality industry hoped that would change following the opening of China’s borders on Jan. 8, given free-spending Chinese tourists comprised almost a quarter of the nation’s 4.7 million international visitors in 2019. Still, the results have been underwhelming.

“We’re starting to see Chinese customers come in, but it’s sub-10% of our business,” says Sykes. “It’s still predominantly Laos with some expats as well.”

Despite an indeterminate human toll , the sudden end of China’s zero-COVID policy is an undoubted boon for the global economy, liberating consumers and retailers of three years of supply chain disruptions wrought by arbitrarily shuttered ports and factories. The end of China’s pandemic travel restrictions is also a huge relief to the global hospitality industry. In 2019, Chinese travelers made 155 million trips overseas, spending $277 billion—a fifth of the global total outlay by international tourists.

But the experience of Laos, right on China’s southwestern frontier, shows that returning to the level of pre-pandemic travel will be a long, slow process.

Rebounding in Phases

The announcement on Dec. 26 that Chinese travelers could once again travel abroad naturally sparked optimism in a regional hospitality industry that has suffered greatly during the pandemic . Ctrip, China’s largest travel agency, reported that overseas bookings from Jan. 1 to Jan. 10 had increased by 313% year-on-year, with Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia among the most popular destinations.

Still, overall traveler numbers remain a fraction of pre-pandemic numbers. Firstly, the abrupt and chaotic end of zero-COVID meant that airlines and travel agencies had little time to scale up capacity before a rush of interest, meaning flights were limited as costs soared.

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“Lots of airports, airlines, travel partners let some of their staff go,” says Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip parent Trip.com Group. “So now they need to recruit the staff back and re-train them. But we’re hoping during the second half of the year, everything will be back to normal.”

When China announced that it would reopen its borders from Jan. 8, the focus internally was on preparing Hong Kong and Macau—two destinations within the People’s Republic but that due to their “semi-autonomous” status still count as “outbound” travel on tourist figures.

The second phase, which began on Feb. 6, included only 20 countries to where Chinese travelers could book tours and “package” (flight plus hotel) vacations: most Southeast Asian nations—including Laos—plus the UAE, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba, and Argentina. In Europe, only Switzerland and Hungary made the cut, while North America was completely shunned.

In any case, the abruptness of the January reopening meant that few Chinese wanted to travel abroad for Lunar New Year—instead choosing to spend it with families that they had been cut off from for the holiday over the past three years. The period immediately following Lunar New Year has never traditionally been a popular travel time in China, and so there’s unlikely to be any huge rebound until the summer at the earliest.

“October and towards the back end of this year is when you’ll start to see the real upswing,” says Gary Bowerman, director of Check-in Asia, a tourism intelligence and strategic marketing firm. “And by that time, you would think that the Chinese travel industry will have found its feet and be able to manage demand.”

Changes in Capacity and Demand

As the world’s largest travel industry, it will take some time for China to get back up to full capacity. A positive factor is that China’s domestic tourism is huge and permitted tour operators to pivot inward rather than suspend operations completely, as was the case in smaller countries.

Still, it’s unlikely that tourism from China will return in exactly the same shape as before. Currently, there just aren’t many flights. Travel data firm OAG suggests that capacity to and from China will swell from about 1.5 million seats in December 2022 to more than 4 million in April 2023. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAC) expects total air traffic for 2023 to reach 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

The CAC will soon post its new spring and summer flight schedules, which will show where demand is heading over the next few months. Every big airline is currently locked in negotiations, though China, as ever, will protect its own domestic carriers by handing them the pick of routes and timings.

In addition, political wrangling persists. China is the only country globally to reopen its borders in the midst of a huge COVID surge (in fact, its biggest on record). Some nations eager for tourism cash chose to backburner the public health implications. In Thailand, where 28% of all visitors in 2019 were from China, arrivals were welcomed by garlands and health kits handed out personally by a deputy prime minister.

However, many governments slapped new testing requirements or bans on Chinese arrivals, prompting Beijing to retaliate by suspending the issuance of short-term visas to their nationals, including from South Korea and Japan. Tourism flows will continue to be buffeted by such politically-charged pandemic headwinds.

The pandemic has also left its imprint on travel habits. Ctrip’s Sun says that today’s Chinese tourists are looking to book trips at short notice—mitigating possible pandemic disruption—but also travel in smaller groups, using more sustainable means, and in ways that they feel safe. “More and more customers really want to be very well protected when they’re traveling,” says Sun.

This is another reason why the U.S. might be last to feel the benefits of any rebound. As relations between Beijing and Washington spiral over myriad issues , anti-Asian hate crime and gun violence has been amplified on Chinese state media. Even before the pandemic, Trump-era trade tariffs and anti-China bombast contributed to just 2.9 million Chinese travelers visiting the U.S. in 2018, down from 3.2 million in 2017, according to U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office data. “Chinese tourists are incredibly risk averse,” says Bowerman. “They don’t want to be near anything that puts their own personal security in danger.”

Of course, given many Chinese study, work or have family in the U.S., a significant number will continue to shuttle across the Pacific. However, safety concerns and a high price point for American travel amid a slowing Chinese economy, plus onerous restrictions for Chinese nationals to get U.S. visas, means many will stay away. And they will be missed; in 2018, Chinese tourists in the U.S. each spent an average of $6,700 per trip—over 50% more than the typical traveler, according to industry body the U.S. Travel Association.

“The Chinese economy has been struggling so I think pricier destinations might find it a little bit more difficult,” says Bowerman. “Value will be a big factor over the next six to 12 months, for sure.”

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Outlook for China tourism 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel

China is now removing travel restrictions rapidly, both domestically and internationally. While the sudden opening may lead to uncertainty and hesitancy to travel in the short term, Chinese tourists still express a strong desire to travel. And the recent removal of quarantine requirements in January 2023 could usher in a renewed demand for trips abroad.

Domestically, there are already signs of strong travel recovery. The recent Chinese New Year holidays saw 308 million domestic trips, generating almost RMB 376 billion in tourism revenue. 1 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This upswing indicates that domestic travel volume has recovered to 90 percent of 2019 figures, and spending has bounced back to around 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels. 2 McKinsey analysis based on China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism data.

This article paints a picture of Chinese travelers and their evolving spending behaviors and preferences—and suggests measures that tourism service providers and destinations could take to prepare for their imminent return. The analyses draw on the findings of McKinsey’s latest Survey of Chinese Tourist Attitudes, and compare the results across six waves of surveys conducted between April 2020 and November 2022, along with consumer sentiment research and recent travel data.

From pandemic to endemic

By January 8, 2023, cross-city travel restrictions, border closures, and quarantine requirements on international arrivals to China had been lifted. 3 “Graphics: China’s 20 new measures for optimizing COVID-19 response,” CGTN, November 15, 2022; “COVID-19 response further optimized with 10 new measures,” China Services Info, December 8, 2022; “China reopens borders in final farewell to zero-COVID,” Reuters, January 8, 2023. This rapid removal of domestic travel restrictions, and an increase in COVID-19 infection rates, likely knocked travel confidence for cross-city and within-city trips. Right after the first easing of measures, in-city transport saw a marked drop as people stayed home—either because they were ill, or to avoid exposure. Subway traffic in ten major cities in mainland China fell and then spiked during Chinese New Year in February. Hotel room bookings also peaked at this time.

Domestic airline seat capacity experienced a minor rebound as each set of restrictions was lifted—suggesting a rise in demand as airlines scheduled more flights. Domestic capacity fluctuated, possibly due to the accelerated COVID-19 infection rate and a temporary labor shortage. International seat capacity, however, continued to climb (Exhibit 1).

By Chinese new year, China was past its infection peak—and domestic tourism recovered strongly. For instance, Hainan drew 6.4 million visitors over Chinese New Year (up from 5.8 million in 2019) and visits to Shanghai reached 10 million (roughly double 2019 holiday figures). 4 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Overall, revenue per available room (RevPAR) during this period recovered and surpassed pre-pandemic levels, at 120 percent of 2019 figures. 5 STR data. Outbound trips are still limited, but given the pent-up demand for international travel (and the upswing in domestic tourism) the tourism industry may need to prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists.

Tourism players should be ready for this; the time to act is now.

A demand boom is around the corner—Chinese tourists are returning soon

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were eager travelers. Mainland China had the largest outbound travel market in the world, both in number of trips and total spend. 6 World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Tourism dashboard, Outbound tourism ranking. In 2019, Mainland Chinese tourists took 155 million outbound trips, totaling $255 billion in travel spending. 7 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. These figures indicate total outbound trips, including to Hong Kong and Macau. China is also an important source market for some major destinations. For instance, Chinese travelers made up 28 percent of inbound tourism in Thailand, 30 percent in Japan, and 16 percent of non-EU visitors to Germany. 8 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) database.

Leisure travel was the biggest driver of China’s outbound travel, representing 65 percent of travelers in 2019. In the same year, 29 percent of travelers ventured out for business, and 6 percent journeyed to visit friends and relatives. 9 Euromonitor International database.

Our most recent Survey of Chinese Tourist Attitudes, conducted in November 2022, shows that Chinese tourists have retained their keen desire to explore international destinations. About 40 percent of respondents reported that they expect to undertake outbound travel for their next leisure trip.

Where do these travelers want to go?

The results also indicate that the top three overseas travel destinations (beyond Hong Kong and Macau) are Australia/New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Overall, respondents show less interest in travel to Europe than in previous years, down from 7 percent to 4 percent compared to wave 5 respondents. Desire to embark on long-haul international trips to Australia/New Zealand increased from 5 percent to 7 percent, and North American trips from 3 percent to 4 percent since the last survey. The wealthier segment (monthly household income over RMB 38,000) still shows a high interest in EU destinations (13 percent).

There are stumbling blocks on the road to recovery

While travel sentiment is strong, other factors may deter travelers from taking to the skies: fear of COVID-19; the need for COVID-19 testing which can be expensive; ticket prices; risk appetite of destination countries; and getting a passport or visa.

Chinese travelers may favor domestic trips, even if all outbound travel restrictions are removed, until they feel it is safe to travel internationally. A COVID-19-safe environment in destination countries will likely boost travelers’ confidence and encourage them to book trips again. 10 “Long-haul travel barometer,” European Travel Commission, February 1, 2023.

Travel recovery is also dependent on airline capacity. Some international airlines might be slow to restore capacity as fleets were retired during COVID-19 and airlines face a shortage of crew, particularly pilots. Considering that at the time of writing, in April 2023, international airline seat capacity has only recovered to around 37 percent of pre-pandemic levels, travelers are likely to face elevated ticket prices in the coming months. For instance, ticket prices for travel in the upcoming holidays to popular overseas destinations such as Japan and Thailand are double what they were in 2019. 11 Based on Ctrip prices. Price-sensitive travelers might wait for ticket prices to level out before booking their overseas trips.

Chinese airlines, however, appear more ready to resume full service than their international counterparts —fewer pilots left the industry and aircraft are available. Chinese carriers’ widebody fleets are mostly in service or ready to be redeployed (Exhibit 2).

Moving forward, safety measures in destination countries will affect travel recovery. Most countries have dropped testing requirements on arrivals from mainland China, and Chinese outbound group travel has resumed but is still limited to selected countries.

Many Chinese travelers—maybe 20 percent—have had passports expire during the COVID-19 period, and China has not been renewing these passports. Renewals are now possible, but the backlog will slow travel’s rebound by a few months. 12 Steve Saxon, “ What to expect from China’s travel rebound ,” McKinsey, January 25, 2023. Furthermore, travel visas for destination countries can take some time to be processed and issued.

Taken together, these factors suggest that the returning wave of Chinese travelers may only gather momentum by the Summer of 2023 and that China’s travel recovery will likely lag Hong Kong’s by a few months.

Overall, China is opening up to travel, both inbound and outbound—all types of visas are being issued to foreign visitors, and locals are getting ready to travel abroad. 13 “China to resume issuing all types of visas for foreigners,” China Briefing, March 14, 2023.

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The returning chinese traveler is evolving.

Although Chinese travelers did not have opportunities to travel internationally over the past three years, they continued to travel domestically and explore new offerings. Annual domestic trips remained at around 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, amounting to 8.7 billion domestic trips over the past three years. 14 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. During this time, the domestic market matured, and travelers became more sophisticated as they tried new leisure experiences such as beach resorts, skiing trips, and “staycations” in home cities. Chinese travelers became more experienced as thanks to periods of low COVID-19 infection rates domestically they explored China’s vast geography and diverse experiences on offer.

Consequently, the post-COVID-19 Chinese traveler is even more digitally savvy, has high expectations, and seeks novel experiences. These are some of the characteristics of a typical traveler:

• Experience-oriented: Wave 6 of the survey shows that the rebound tourist is planning their trip around experiences. Outdoor and scenic trips remain the most popular travel theme. In survey waves 1 to 3, sightseeing and “foodie” experiences were high on the list of preferences while traveling. From waves 4 to 6, culture and history, beaches and resorts, and health and wellness gained more attention—solidifying the trend for experience-driven travel. Additionally, possibly due to the hype of the Winter Olympics, skiing and snowboarding have become popular activities.
• Hyper-digitized: While digitization is a global trend, Chinese consumers are some of the most digitally savvy in the world; mobile technologies and social media are at the core of daily life. COVID-19 drove people to spend more time online—now short-form videos and livestreaming have become the top online entertainment options in China. In the first half of 2022, Chinese consumers spent 30 percent of their mobile internet time engaging with short videos. 15 “In the first half of the year, the number of mobile netizens increased, and short videos accounted for nearly 30% of the total time spent online,” Chinadaily.com, 27 July 2022.
• Exploration enthusiasts: Chinese travelers are also keen to explore the world and embark on novel experiences in unfamiliar destinations. Survey respondents were looking forward to visiting new attractions, even when travel policies limited their travel radius. Instead of revisiting destinations, 45 percent of respondents picked short trips to new sites as their number one choice, followed by long trips to new sites as their second choice.

Consumers are optimistic, and travel spending remains resilient

McKinsey’s 2022 research on Chinese consumer sentiment shows that although economic optimism is seeing a global decline, 49 percent of Chinese respondents reported that they are optimistic about their country’s economic recovery. Optimism had dropped by 6 percentage points since an earlier iteration of the survey, but Chinese consumers continue to be more optimistic than other surveyed countries, apart from India (80 percent optimistic) and Indonesia (73 percent optimistic) (Exhibit 3). 16 “ Survey: Chinese consumer sentiment during the coronavirus crisis ,” McKinsey, October 13, 2022.

Chinese consumers are still keen to spend on travel, and travel spending is expected to be resilient. Wave 6 of the tourist attitude survey saw 87 percent of respondents claiming that they will spend more or maintain their level of travel spending. Moreover, when consumers were asked “which categories do you intend to splurge/treat yourself to,” travel ranked second, with 29 percent of respondents preferring travel over other categories. 17 “ Survey: Chinese consumer sentiment during the coronavirus crisis ,” McKinsey, October 13, 2022.

Against this context of consumer optimism, the wave 6 tourist attitude survey results shed light on how travelers plan to spend, and which segments are likely to spend more than others:

• The wealthier segment and older age groups (age 45-65) show the most resilience in terms of travel spend. Around 45 to 50 percent of travelers in these two groups will spend more on their next leisure trip.
• The wealthier segment has shown the most interest in beach and resort trips (48 percent). Instead of celebrating Chinese New Year at home with family, 30 percent of Chinese travelers in the senior age group (age 55-65) expect to take their next leisure trip during this holiday—10 percent more than the total average. And the top three trip preferences for senior travelers are culture, sightseeing, and health-themed trips.
• When it comes to where travelers plan to spend their money on their next trip, entertainment activities, food, and shopping are the most popular categories. These are also the most flexible and variable spending categories, and there are opportunities to up-sell—attractions, food and beverage, and retail players are well positioned to create unique and unexpected offerings to stimulate spending in this area (Exhibit 4).

Independent accommodation is gaining popularity

Overall, Chinese consumers have high expectations for products and services. McKinsey’s 2023 consumer report found that local brands are on the rise and consumers are choosing local products for their quality, not just for their cheaper prices. Chinese consumers are becoming savvier, and tap into online resources and social media to educate themselves about the specific details and features of product offerings. 18 Daniel Zipser, Daniel Hui, Jia Zhou, and Cherie Zhang, 2023 McKinsey China Consumer Report , McKinsey, December 2022.

Furthermore, 49 percent of Chinese consumers believe that domestic brands are of “better quality” than foreign brands—only 23 percent believe the converse is true. Functionality extended its lead as the most important criterion influencing Chinese consumers, indicating that consumers are focusing more on the functional aspects of products, and less on emotional factors. Branding thus has less influence on purchasing decisions. 19 Daniel Zipser, Daniel Hui, Jia Zhou, and Cherie Zhang, 2023 McKinsey China Consumer Report , McKinsey, December 2022.

These broader consumer sentiments are echoed in the travel sector. Chinese travelers pay attention to cost, but do not simply seek out the lowest prices. While 17 percent of wave 6 respondents are concerned about low prices, 33 percent are on the hunt for value-for-money offerings, and 30 percent prefer good discounts and worthwhile deals.

And consumer sentiment regarding local brands holds true for travel preferences. Independent travel accommodation continues to be the preferred choice for most respondents, increasing in share against international chain brand hotels (Exhibit 5). Almost 60 percent of respondents prefer independent accommodation such as boutique hotels, B&Bs, and Airbnb—an 8 percentage-point increase since 2020.

Local chain brand hotels remain stable, the favored accommodation for 20 percent of respondents. These hotels are seen as a more standardized option, and as most are located in urban areas, they target the budget traveler segment.

Opting for independent accommodation is not considered a trade down; Chinese travelers expect a high level of service. In particular, respondents in the wealthier segment picked independent options (57 percent) over international premium brands (27 percent).

Premium independent options for the wealthier segment are abundant, specifically in leisure travel. Setting up a premium brand hotel requires long-term construction periods and heavy capital investment. Small-scale boutique hotels or B&Bs, on the other hand, are more agile solutions that can ramp up in the short term. This may explain the abundance of premium independent offerings. For instance, in destinations such as Lijiang and Yangshuo, between seven and nine of the top-ten premium hotels listed on Ctrip are independent boutique hotels.

Premium independent accommodation’s strength lies in quality guest experience with a genuine human touch. The service level at premium independent establishments can even surpass that of chain brand accommodation thanks to the high staff-to-room ratio, which easily reaches 3:1 or even 5:1. 20 “Strategic marketing analysis of boutique hotels,” Travel Daily , June 3, 2015. For hotels in Xiamen, Lijiang, and Yangshou, Ctrip service ratings of premium independent hotels are all above 4.7, outperforming international chain brand hotels.

Travelers are becoming smarter and more realistic during hotel selection, focusing on fundamental offerings such as local features and value for money. Across all types of hotels, local features are one of the most important factors influencing hotel selection—even for chain brand hotels which have a reputation for mastering the standardized offering. On average, 34 percent of respondents report that local features and cultural elements are the key considerations affecting their choice of hotel.

Outbound Chinese tourists are evolving rapidly, becoming increasingly diverse in their travel preferences, behaviors, and spending patterns. Chinese travelers are not homogeneous, and their needs and preferences continue to evolve. Therefore, serving each group of tourists may require different product offerings, sales channels, or marketing techniques.

The path toward eco-friendly travel in China

How international travel and tourism can attract outbound chinese travelers.

China’s lifting of travel restrictions may cause some uncertainty in the short term, but a promising recovery lies ahead. Chinese tourists have maintained a strong desire to travel internationally and are willing to pay for this experience. They are also discerning and looking for high-quality accommodation, offerings, and service. As boutique hotels are becoming more popular, international hotel brands hotels could, for example, aim to stand out by leveraging their experience in service excellence.

With renewed travel demand, now may be the time for international travel and tourism businesses to invest in polishing product offerings—on an infrastructural and service level. Tourism, food and beverage, retail, and entertainment providers can start preparing for the rebound by providing unique and innovative experiences that entice the adventurous Chinese traveler.

Craft an authentically local offering that appeals to experience-driven Chinese travelers

Chinese travelers have suspended overseas trips for three years, and are now looking to enjoy high-quality experiences in destinations they have been to before. They also want to do more than shopping and sightseeing, and have expressed willingness to spend on offerings geared towards entertainment and experience. This includes activities like theme parks, snow sports, water sports, shows, and cultural activities. Authentic experiences can satisfy their desire for an immersive foreign experience, but they often want the experience to be familiar and accessible.

Designing the right product means tapping into deep customer insights to craft offerings that are accessible for Chinese travelers, within a comfortable and familiar setting, yet are still authentic and exciting.

Travel and tourism providers may also have opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell experiences and entertainment offerings.

Social media is essential

Social media is emerging as one of the most important sources of inspiration for travel. Short video now is a major influence channel across all age groups and types of consumers.

Tourist destinations have begun to leverage social media, and short video campaigns, to maximize exposure. For example, Tourism Australia recently launched a video campaign with a kangaroo character on TikTok, and overall views soon reached around 1.67 billion.

The story of Ding Zhen, a young herder from a village in Sichuan province, illustrates the power of online video in China. In 2020, a seven-second video of Ding Zhen turned him into an overnight media sensation. Soon after, he was approached to become a tourism ambassador for Litang county in Sichuan—and local tourism flourished. 21 “Tibetan herder goes viral, draws attention to his hometown in SW China,” Xinhuanet, December 11, 2020. Another Sichuan local, the director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau in Ganzi, has drawn visitors to the region through his popular cosplay videos that generated 7 million reviews. Building on the strength of these influential celebrities, visitor numbers to the region were said to reach 35 million, more than two-and-a-half times 2016 volumes. 22 “Local official promoting Sichuan tourism goes viral on internet,” China Daily, June 17, 2022; “The Director of Culture and Tourism disguises himself as a “Swordsman” knight to promote Ganzi tourism,” Travel Daily , June 17, 2022.

Online travel companies are also using social media to reach consumers. Early in the pandemic, Trip.com took advantage of the upward trend in livestreaming. The company’s co-founder and chairman of the board, James Liang, hosted weekly livestreams where he dressed up in costume or chatted to guests at various destinations. Between March and October 2020, Liang’s livestreams sold around $294 million’s worth of travel packages and hotel room reservations. 23 “Travel companies adapt to a livestreaming trend that may outlast the pandemic,” Skift, October 26, 2020.

Livestreaming is being used by tourism boards, too. For instance, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) collaborated with Trip.com to launch a new campaign to attract Chinese tourists to Thailand as cross-border travel resumed. The broadcast, joined by TAT Governor Mr Yuthasak Supasorn, recorded sales of more than 20,000 room nights amounting to a gross merchandise value of over RMB 40 million. 24 “Trip.com Group sees border reopening surge in travel bookings boosted by Lunar New Year demand,” Trip.com, January 13, 2023.

International tourism providers looking to engage Chinese travelers should keep an eye on social media channels and fully leverage key opinion leaders.

Scale with the right channel partners

Travel distribution in China has evolved into a complex, fragmented, and Chinese-dominated ecosystem, making scaling an increasingly difficult task. Travel companies need to understand the key characteristics of each channel type, including online travel agencies (OTAs), online travel portals (OTPs), and traditional travel agencies as each target different customer segments, and offer different levels of control to brands. It also takes different sets of capabilities to manage each type of distribution channel.

Travel companies can prioritize the channels they wish to use and set clear roles for each. One challenge when choosing the right channel partner is to avoid ultra-low prices that may encourage volume, but could ultimately damage a brand.

Meanwhile, given the evolution of the postCOVID-19 industry landscape and rapid shifts in consumer demand, travel companies should consider direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels. The first step would be selecting the appropriate D2C positioning and strategy, according to the company’s needs. In China, D2C is a complicated market involving both public domains (such as social media and OTA platforms) and private domains (such as official brand platforms). To make the most of D2C, travel companies need a clear value proposition for their D2C strategy, whether it be focused on branding or on commercial/sales.

Create a seamless travel experience for the digitally savvy Chinese tourist

China has one of the most digitally advanced lifestyles on the planet. Chinese travelers are mobile-driven, wallet-less, and impatient—and frequently feel “digitally homesick” while abroad. Overseas destinations and tourism service providers could “spoil” tech-savvy Chinese travelers with digitally enhanced service.

China’s internet giants can provide a shortcut to getting digital services off the ground. Rather than building digital capabilities from scratch, foreign tourism providers could engage Chinese travelers through a platform that is already being used daily. For example, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport provides a WeChat Mini Program with four modules: duty-free shopping, flight inquiry, information transfer, and travel planning. This contains information about all aspects of the airport, including ground transportation and tax refund procedures.

Alibaba’s Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform, is also innovating in this space. The service provider has cooperated with various tax refund agencies, such as Global Blue, to enable a seamless digitized tax refund experience. Travelers scan completed tax refund forms at automated kiosks in the airport, and within a few hours, the refunded amount is transferred directly to their Alipay accounts. 25 “Alipay and Global Blue to make tax refunds easy for Chinese tourists,” Alizila, June 23, 2014.

Such digital applications are likely to be the norm going forward, not a differentiator, so travel companies that do not invest in this area may be left behind.

Chinese travelers are on the cusp of returning in full force, and tourism providers can start preparing now

With China’s quarantine requirements falling away at the start of 2023, travelers are planning trips, renewing passports and visas, and readying themselves for a comeback. Chinese tourists have not lost their appetite for travel, and a boom in travel demand can be expected soon. Though airlines are slow to restore capacity, and some destination countries are more risk averse when welcoming Chinese travelers, there are still options for Chinese tourists to explore destinations abroad.

Tourism providers can expect to welcome travelers with diverse interests who are willing to spend money on travel, who are seeking out exciting experiences, and who are choosing high-quality products and services. The returning Chinese traveler is digitally savvy and favors functionality over branding—trends suggest that providers who can craft authentic, seamless, and unique offerings could be well positioned to capture this market.

Guang Chen and Jackey Yu are partners in McKinsey’s Hong Kong office, Zi Chen is a capabilities and insights specialist in the Shanghai office, and Steve Saxon is a partner in the Shenzhen office.

The authors wish to thank Cherie Zhang, Glenn Leibowitz, Na Lei, and Monique Wu for their contributions to this article.

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Notice on the L atest COVID- R e la ted R equirements for China- B ound T ravelers

According to relevant requirements of the Chinese government in manag ing COVID-19 as a Class B infectious disease , China-bound travelers are required to take nucleic acid test for COVID-19 within 48 hours before boarding, and can only travel to China when the test result is negative.

For international travel safety, starting from January 17 , 2023 (local time), airlines flying China-bound flights will check your test result before boarding, and travelers are advised to cooperate with the check. Upon entry, the Chinese Customs will also have random inspection on your test results.

To facilitate travelers ’ pre-travel preparation, Embassy of People ’ s Republic of China in the State of Eritrea hereby provides the Guide on Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures for China-bound Travelers (Appendix 1) and Requirements for Proof of COVID-19 Test (Appendix 2) for your reference. Please read them through and observe accordingly.

Guide on Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures for China-Bound Travelers

Ⅰ .Pre-boarding Nucleic Acid Test

All China-bound travelers will need to take nucleic acid test for COVID-19 within 48 hours before boarding, and can only travel to China when your test result is negative or after it turns from positive to negative. Please always bring the proof of your negative COVID-19 test result with you for inspection.

Ⅱ . Health Declaration to China Customs

You are required to declare your negative test result to China Customs by filling the Health Declaration Form at https://htdecl. chinaport.gov.cn or on the WeChat mini-program of China Customs (scan the QR code below), or , or via the China Customs APP.

Ⅲ . Boarding Check

At boarding time, airlines will check if you have a negative result within 48 hours, and those who fail to present such a proof will not be allowed to board the plane.

Ⅳ . Self-protection on the Aircraft

You are suggested to wear a mask throughout the flight and take good personal protection to reduce the risk of infection.

Ⅴ . Inspection upon Entry

You can go through customs with your health declaration result, and China Customs may check your proof of negative COVID-19 test result.

If you pass the health declaration and entry inspection, no further requirements will be imposed.

If there are anomalies in your health declaration or you are showing symptoms such as fever, you are required to take an antigen test by China Customs. Those whose results are positive will need to self-quarantine or seek medical treatment as notified by the authority. Those whose results are negative will go through routine quarantine inspection by China Customs in accordance with the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law and other laws and regulations.

Ⅵ . After-entry Epidemic Prevention and Control

After entry into China, you will have to strictly abide by the epidemic prevention and control requirements of the place where you stay.

Requirements for Proof of COVID-19 Test

Ⅰ . The proof must have the name of the traveler, which should be exactly the same as it appears on the travel document used for the flight. It is recommended that the date of birth and travel document number also be shown on the proof.

Ⅱ . The proof must also have:

· time of the test or time of issue (at least one of them should be within 48 hours before boarding);

· testing method (which should be nucleic acid testing; antigen testing will not be accepted);

· test result (which should be negative; ‘ uncertain ’ will not be accepted);

· and name and contact details of the testing institution.

Ⅲ . The proof must be in the official language of the place of departure of your flight to China, or in English. It will be checked by the airline of your flight to China.

Ⅳ . It should be a hard copy. If the testing institution issued a digital copy, please print it our and take it with you.

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China to reopen to foreign tourists for first time since Covid crisis

Authorities will resume issuing all visas after closing borders to international holidaymakers in 2020

China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in the three years since the Covid pandemic erupted by allowing all categories of visas to be issued.

The removal of this last cross-border control measure on Wednesday comes after authorities declared victory over the virus last month.

Tourist industry insiders do not expect a large influx of visitors in the near future or significant boost to the economy. In 2019, international tourism receipts accounted for just 0.9% of China’s gross domestic product.

But the resumption of visa issuance for tourists marks a broader push by Beijing to normalise two-way travel between China and the world, having withdrawn its advisory to citizens against foreign travel in January.

Areas in China that did not require visas before the pandemic would revert to visa-free entry, the foreign ministry said. This would include the southern tourist island of Hainan, a longtime favourite destination among Russians, as well as cruise ships passing through Shanghai port.

Visa-free entry for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau to China’s most prosperous province, Guangdong, will also resume, a boon particularly to luxury hotels that are popular among international business travellers.

The chair of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in China, Vaughn Barber, said: “The announcement that China will resume issuing nearly all type of visas for foreigners is positive for Australian businesses, whose executives would like to travel to here to visit their China-based teams, customers and suppliers and to explore new business opportunities in the mainland market.”

Chinese events open to foreign visitors, such as the development forum in Beijing this month and the Shanghai auto show in April, are gradually resuming. The quadrennial Asian Games will also take place in the eastern city of Hangzhou in September after being postponed last year.

But prospective visitors may not immediately arrive in droves. Unfavourable views of China among western democracies have hardened amid concerns over human rights and Beijing’s aggressive foreign policy, as well as suspicions surrounding handling of Covid, according to a global survey by the Pew Research Center in September.

“In terms of tourism, China is no longer a hotspot destination,” said an executive at China International Travel Services in Beijing, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

“Commercially, the wish of foreigners to run events in China also decreased after Covid, because too many things here are impacted by politics, which has scared them off.”

In a further relaxation of controls on outbound tourism, China added 40 countries to its list for which group tours are allowed, bringing the total to 60.

But the list still excludes Japan, South Korea, Australia and the US. Tensions between those countries deepened as Washington faced off with Beijing over issues from Russia and Ukraine to Chinese military presence in the South China Sea.

“It’s common to use tourist visas to come to China on business but I don’t know how enthusiastic institutional investors will be to do so, after all the drumbeat of scary news,” said Duncan Clark, the founder of BDA, a Beijing-based investment consultancy.

In 2022, just 115.7m cross-border trips were made in and out of China, with foreigners accounting for about 4.5m.

By contrast, China logged 670m overall trips in 2019 before Covid, with foreigners accounting for 97.7m.

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China plans to ditch the last of it's COVID-era measures requiring negative tests for visitors

China will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test result for incoming travellers starting Wednesday, a milestone in its reopening to the rest of the world after a three-year isolation that began with the country's borders closing in March 2020.

Key points:

• China is scrapping its negative COVID test requirement for travellers
• China maintained one of the longest and strictest anti-covid measures
• Major protests in November accelerated lessening restrictions

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced the change at a briefing in Beijing.

China in January ended quarantine requirements for its own citizens travelling from abroad, and over the past few months has gradually expanded the list of countries that Chinese people can travel to, and increased the number of international flights.

Beijing ended its tough domestic "zero COVID" policy in December, after years of draconian curbs that at times included full-city lockdowns and lengthy quarantines for people who were infected.

The restrictions slowed the world's second-largest economy, leading to rising unemployment and occasional instances of unrest.

As part of those measures, incoming travellers were required to isolate for weeks at government-designated hotels. Residents were in some cases forcibly locked into their homes in attempts to stop the virus from spreading.

Protests in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Nanjing erupted in November over the COVID curbs, in the most direct challenge to the Communist Party's rule since the Tiananmen protests of 1989.

In early December, authorities abruptly scrapped most COVID controls, ushering in a wave of infections that overwhelmed hospitals and morgues.

Excess deaths

A US federally funded study this month found the rapid dismantling of the "zero COVID" policy may have led to nearly 2 million excess deaths in the following two months. That number greatly exceeds official estimates of 60,000 deaths within a month of the lifting of the curbs.

During the years of "zero COVID," local authorities occasionally imposed snap lockdowns in attempts to isolate infections, trapping people inside offices and apartment buildings.

From April until June last year, the city of Shanghai locked down its 25 million residents in one of the world's largest pandemic-related mass lockdowns. Residents were required to take frequent PCR tests and had to rely on government food supplies, often described as insufficient.

Throughout the pandemic, Beijing touted its "zero COVID" policy — and the relatively low number of infections — as an example of the superiority of China's political system over that of Western democracies.

Since lifting the COVID curbs, the government has been contending with a sluggish economic recovery. The restrictions, coupled with diplomatic frictions with the United States and other Western nations, have driven some foreign companies to reduce their investments in China.

• X (formerly Twitter)

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It's easier to travel to China — as Beijing lifts more COVID pandemic rules

Dwane Brown

John Ruwitch

China has ended mandatory quarantine for inbound travelers — dismantling one of the final pieces of its "zero COVID" policy. The change will have a big impact on the global economy and for visitors.

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

Forced quarantine has been a centerpiece of China's response to COVID-19 for almost three years now, but no longer. As of yesterday, it got a lot easier to get into China. We've got NPR China affairs correspondent John Ruwitch on the line. John, how significant is this new policy, say, for the day-to-day life in China?

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: Yeah. Well, about a month ago, China started dismantling its "zero-COVID" policy. And this is really a big step. It marks the end of what started in 2020 when the government effectively closed its borders and started quarantining inbound passengers. Those quarantines varied from five days to as many as three weeks. And now things are just shifting back to normal. I chatted with Sjoerd den Daas, who's a journalist with NOS, the Dutch public broadcaster. He had just crossed the border from Hong Kong into China. Tens of thousands of people did so yesterday. It was a piece of cake, he said. Before, let me tell you, crossing this border literally took hours. You had PCR tests and paperwork and waiting and then more waiting and then a bus to a mystery quarantine hotel. But he said he was out in about 15 or 20 minutes on the other side, just like the pre-pandemic normal for the first time in three years.

SJOERD DEN DAAS: I am waiting for a DiDi, an Uber, to get to the hotel. I actually have to say I'm a little disoriented, used to, like, being picked up, sent to a quarantine hotel and make plans for the next couple of weeks or months.

RUWITCH: Yeah. It's really hard to overstate how big a change this is.

BROWN: So, John, does that mean anybody can just go to China now, the rules have changed that much?

RUWITCH: Well, the authorities are taking it step by step. They don't appear to have resumed issuing new tourist visas right away. They say they're facilitating visas for students, for businessmen and women, people going into China to visit relatives. Also flights, they were trimmed way back during the pandemic, and capacity was cut on flights. China says those capacity limits are removed and that there will be a phased-in increase of flights. So that'll take some time.

At that Hong Kong-China border crossing, thousands crossed, but there are still limits on the numbers. That's going to be changing in the coming weeks and days. And we're talking about the people getting into China. A lot of the border flow that China sees is people leaving the country. Chinese tourists have become a huge force in recent years. For most of the pandemic, China stopped issuing passports to Chinese citizens for tourism. That's changing now, and there's pent-up demand. When the policy change was announced a little over a week ago, the Chinese travel site trip.com said it saw a huge boom in online searches for travel to places like South Korea, Thailand, places popular with Chinese tourists. But it'll take time.

BROWN: And lifting the COVID travel restrictions, what about the economic implications? We know factory workers were sorely affected, right?

RUWITCH: Yeah. This is not going to be a panacea for the economy, which faces lots of big issues. But border closures have been a big drag, and they've been a problem for people like Dakota Adams. He's got a startup in Santa Cruz, Calif., that designs and makes portable blenders for protein shakes and making margaritas on the go. He says it's been exceedingly tough to build out and manage his production line in China with the border so hard to cross.

DAKOTA ADAMS: Zoom is OK for teleconferencing if you're, you know, an office worker, but building real, physical products, it doesn't really work if you're not able to go over there.

RUWITCH: He's been to China once since 2020. Normally, he's going once a month. They're finally shipping products this month. He says they're about a year behind schedule, but he's hopeful that things are going to get back on track.

ADAMS: We're very excited about the reopening, so we're immediately rebooking tickets to get over there as soon as we can.

RUWITCH: The problem for him at the moment, though, is that he says basically everyone he knows in China has COVID.

BROWN: Wow. NPR's John Ruwitch, thank you.

RUWITCH: You're welcome.

Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

2024 Traveling to China Updates

Latest updates.

• Can I travel to China now - China's ...
• Can Malaysians travel to China now?
• Can Singaporeans travel to China now...
• China’s visa-free policies restarted
• China visa restrictions
• Types of China visa for visitors
• Checklist for entering China after r...
• Latest Hong Kong and Macau travel re...

Whether you're looking to travel to China or do business in China this guide will walk you through the latest requirements of entering China. 

Travellers from the following countries can enjoy a 15-day visa-free entry to China for various purposes including business, tourism, family visits, and transit:

• December 1 2023 - November 30 2024: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain.
• March 14 - November 30 2024: Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
• Singapore, Brunei
• December 1 2023 - November 30 2024: Malaysia 

More updates

• All categories of visa applications, including tourist visas (L visas), have now resumed, and visa-free policies have been reinstated.
• All types of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa applications have been resumed, including the tourist dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa and 10-year dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa . 
• dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">Visa -free policies have also been reinstated: dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free entry for Hainan, dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827517" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827517">Shanghai International cruise arrival, Guangdong for Tourist group entry of foreigners from dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong , dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827557" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827557">Macau , and ASEAN tourist groups entering Guilin, Guangxi will be restored.
• Tibet is popular among international business travellers and is officially reopened to foreign travellers. The local tourism bureau started to accept the applications for Tibet permits from March 15th 2023.   For more details, please check with related dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese authorities and local authorities for details on visas for foreigners. 

We will keep updating the latest entry policy on this page.

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">Can I travel to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China now - dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China 's current entry policy 

Now that travel to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China is possible, you can consider expanding your business into this fastest growing emerging market. To enter dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China here’re some conditions you may need to fulfil: 

Hold a valid dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese residence permit for work, study, personal matters, or family dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827521" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827521">reunions , i.e. the Z-, M-, R-, X1, Q-, and dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">S-visas

Hold a diplomatic, service, courtesy, or C dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa

Hold a valid APEC business card

Do I still need to take a PCR test to enter China?

COVID-19 testing is no longer a requirement for travellers entering China. 

Can Malaysians travel to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China now?

Just like all foreign travellers, Malaysians are required to have a dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa before entering dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China . You can obtain your dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa from the dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur or other countries. Since dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827558" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827558">Malaysia doesn’t fall into dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China ’ dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">s visa -free countries, it’s best to apply for a APEC business card for quick and easy business travel across the region. If you’re considering expanding your business and operating in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China , an APEC card is a good way to help your business operate seamlessly. It’ll give you special benefits such as fast track lanes at the airport, dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free travel, and multiple entries to the participating APEC countries and regions, including Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Thailand and Vietnam. 

Can Singaporeans travel to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China now?

Yes, Singaporean citizens holding ordinary passports can enjoy a 15-day visa-free policy for visiting China for business, tourism, family visits, and transit purposes. However, applying for an APEC card is a good way to enjoy more flexible business travels to China.

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China ’ dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">s visa -free policies restarted

With restrictions eased on dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827537" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827537">international flights , passengers can now take direct flights or transfer to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China .  

144-Hour dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free transit policy

To better serve tourists, dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China announced a new 144-hour dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free transit policy, allowing travellers from 53 countries to enjoy a 6-day stay without a dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa . However, travellers from Japan will still need to apply for a dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa before entry according to the List of Agreements on Mutual dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">Visa Exemption Between the People’s Republic of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China and Foreign Countries issued on February 22nd, 2023.

Qualified tourists can enjoy "no- dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa " entry, which is time, money and energy-saving. This dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa applies to those transiting through dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China via the cities below. It’s also possible to travel within the region instead of having to stay within a single city. 

Region 1: Jing-Jin-Ji Region Movement areas: dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827512" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827512">Beijing , Tianjin, and Hebei Province

Region 2: Yangtze River Delta Movement areas: dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827517" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827517">Shanghai , Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, and all cities in Zhejiang & Jiangsu

• Region 3: Guangdong Province Movement areas: dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827549" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827549">Guangzhou , dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827529" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827529">Shenzhen , Zhuhai, Foshan, and all cities in Guangdong

Region 4: Liaoning Province Movement areas: Shenyang, Dalian, and all cities in Liaoning

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">Visa exemption for ASEAN tour groups to Guilin

In addition, tour groups and cruise ships from ASEAN member countries, including dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827558" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827558">Malaysia , dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827540" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827540">Thailand , Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827524" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827524">Singapore , Myanmar, Brunei, and the Philippines, can visit Guilin for 144 hours without dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visas as long as they meet the dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free transit policy requirements.

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827517" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827517">Shanghai dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free policy for cruise groups

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827517" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827517">Shanghai has a 15-day dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free policy for foreign tourist groups entering dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China via a cruise. You must arrive and depart on the same cruise and be received by a dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese travel agent at the dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827517" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827517">Shanghai Cruise Terminal (or Wusong Passenger Center).

Hainan dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free access

No dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is required for staying on Hainan Island for up to 30 days for ordinary passport holders from 59 countries. Groups and individual tourists must dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827533" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827533">book a tour through an accredited travel agency. 

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">Visa exemption for the Pearl River Delta area

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827531" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827531">International travellers from dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong or dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827557" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827557">Macau are able to visit the Pearl River Delta area ( dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827549" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827549">Guangzhou , dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827529" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827529">Shenzhen , and Zhuhai, etc.) dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free as long as they go with a registered tour provider.

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China  dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa restrictions

The long wait is over! If you still hold a valid dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa (any type of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa including the tourist dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa and 10-year dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa ), you can use it to enter dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China , i.e. dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visas issued before March 28, 2020 and still valid.

If you don’t have a dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa or your dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa has expired, you can apply for a new one. Authorities have resumed issuing of various categories of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa s: Z-, M-, R-, X1, Q-, and dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">S-visas . Visitors can apply for a new dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa with a valid previously-granted dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa .

Types of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China  dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa for visitors

Tourists (l dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa ).

The L dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to those who intend to go to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China for sightseeing and touring.

Individual tourists can apply for single-entry (3-month validity), double-entry (3 to 6-month validity) or multiple-entry (valid for 6 months, or 1 year) tourist dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa based on own needs.

The L dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is currently available for application here .

Workers (Z dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa )

The Z dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to those who have obtained employment permits and intend to work in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China . 

Holder of Z dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa will be issued the dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China Residence Permit upon arrival in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China , which allows multiple entries for one year. 

The Z dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is currently available for application here . 

Business travellers (M- dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa & APEC Cards)

The M dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to those visiting dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China for business and trade purposes, which is ideal for foreigners who visit dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China frequently for short business trips. Executives would like to travel to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China can also apply for this dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa .

To become eligible, those who wish to apply must be invited to the country for business purposes by a dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China -based company.

The M dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is currently available for application here . Alternatively, APEC business card holders can enjoy up to 60 days of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free business trips in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China .

Highly-skilled individuals (R dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa )

The R dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to highly qualified talents or whose skills are urgently needed in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China , i.e. the tier A talents under dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China ’s new tiered work permit classification system. 

Spouses and children of R dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa holders will also be allowed to enter the country on an R dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa .

The R dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is currently available for application here .

Students (X dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa )

International students can now return to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China . The X dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to those who enter dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China for studies or fieldwork. Those holding a valid student residence permit can enter without applying for a new dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa .

The X1 dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to students whose study period is more than 180 days, while X2 dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is for a period of less than 6 months.

Only X1 dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is currently available for application here .

Family dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827521" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827521">reunion (S or Q dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa )

The dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">S visa is issued to relatives of foreigners who work or study in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China and is the equivalent of the Q dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa for the family of foreigners living in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China long-term.

The Q dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to foreigners visiting dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827555" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827555">family members of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827536" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827536"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827536" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827536"> citizens and to foreigners who are spouses of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827536" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827536"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827536" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827536"> citizens , including those who intend to visit dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China for personal purposes, such as foster care. As a result, unlike dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827543" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827543">last year , many can celebrate the dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827523" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827523">lunar new year together.

The S- and Q- dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visas are currently available for application here . 

Crew aviation (C dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa )

The C dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to crew-members on international aviation, sea navigation, and land transportation missions, and their accompanying dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827555" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827555">family members .

The C dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is currently available for application here .

Diplomatic, Service & Courtesy dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa

The diplomatic or service dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to diplomats, government officials, members of the Royal Family and Members of Parliament who intend to visit dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China on diplomatic or official purposes. In addition, British diplomatic passport holders enjoy dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa -free entry to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China .

The courtesy dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa is issued to those who are given courtesy due to their special status by the dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the U.K., for example, diplomatic passport holders who travel to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China in private for tourism, visiting relatives or transit.

The diplomatic, service and courtesy dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visas are currently available for application here .

Checklist for entering dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China after dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827516" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827516">reopening

Before you enter dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China , make sure you complete the followings:

Have a valid permit, dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa , or ID card to enter dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China .

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827533" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827533">Book a flight to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China and check the schedule frequently (both direct flights and transferring flights are allowed).

No more COVID-19 testing!

Prepare your ID card or passport with permit/ dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa.

Latest dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong and  dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827557" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827557">Macau  dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827522" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827522">travel restrictions

Dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">hong kong entry requirement and travel advice.

International travellers bound for Hong Kong will no longer need to take pre-flight COVID-19 test (no PCR test, no RAT test) from April 1.

Whether vaccinated or not, you can enter dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong freely. Travellers are no longer required to wear masks indoors, outdoors, or on public transport carriers in dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong . However, mask wearing is still required at some high-risk premises, such as hospitals and other healthcare facilities. 

Travellers can visit dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong with no quarantine, no testing, and no dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827518" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827518">vaccination requirements. Normal travel between dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong and m dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827515" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827515">ainland  dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827515" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827515">China has fully resumed. There’s no more daily quota for entry to dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong .

Even if you feel unwell or test positive for Covid-19, no quarantine is required. However, you are advised to adopt health measures for preventing respiratory diseases. If you require medical care, you may visit any of the private medical practitioners listed on the Government’s websites for the prescription of COVID-19 oral drugs and further assistance.

dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827557" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827557">Macau entry requirement and travel advice

You don't need a COVID-19 dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827518" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827518">vaccination to enter dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827557" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827557">Macau , and there're no quarantine or other testing requirements after arrival for all countries. International travellers bound for Macau will no longer need to take pre-flight COVID-19 test (no PCR test, no RAT test) .

Entering mainland dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China via dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827513" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827513">Hong Kong and dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827557" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827557">Macau is also feasible, but just make sure you hold a valid dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827519" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827519">visa , testing is no longer required. For more details, please check with related dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827510" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827510">Chinese authorities and local authorities.

After a long wait of three years, dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China is dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827516" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827516">reopening borders to foreigners, welcoming foreign investments and dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827531" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827531">international travel with  million cross border trips, which is expected to give a significant boost to the tourist industry and the country's gross domestic product. So let's tap into the opportunity of dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827527" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827527"> dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827509" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827509">China dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827527" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827527">'s borders dropdown#toggle" data-dropdown-menu-id-param="menu_term_250827516" data-dropdown-placement-param="top" data-term-id="250827516">reopening and navigate your business into growth and expansion.

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China Drops Covid P.C.R. Test Rule for Inbound Travelers

It was not clear, however, whether travelers would still be required to take antigen tests.

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By Vivian Wang

BEIJING — China said on Tuesday that it would no longer require travelers entering the country to show a negative P.C.R. test for the coronavirus, another step toward reopening after a long period of pandemic-era isolation.

But it was not clear whether testing requirements would be abolished altogether. A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said only that, beginning on Saturday, people going to China “can” take an antigen test to “replace” the previously mandated P.C.R. test within 48 hours before boarding their flight.

Airlines will not check test results before boarding, the spokeswoman, Mao Ning, added at a regularly scheduled news briefing. She did not say whether others, such as immigration officials, would check.

Notices by Chinese embassies overseas said that travelers arriving in China would still need to fill out a health declaration form, and that customs officials would conduct unspecified spot checks .

For three years, China imposed the world’s strictest coronavirus restrictions , requiring lockdowns and regular mass testing in the name of “zero Covid.” Then the government abruptly abandoned those rules in December as the economy sagged, the virus spread widely and protests broke out across the country. Beijing has since declared that it is open to the world, and tried to woo foreign businesspeople and diplomats.

In practice, the reopening has been slowed, in part, by geopolitical tensions. Tourist visas were not reinstated until last month . International flights remain prohibitively expensive for many, often costing thousands of dollars. The United States and China have not yet lifted tit-for-tat caps that they imposed on routes between their two countries during the pandemic.

Testing requirements also became politicized. In January, as the coronavirus spread widely across China, several countries, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, announced mandatory tests for inbound travelers from China. China, in response, doubled down on its requirement for travelers from those countries — and suspended the issuing of some visas for Japanese and South Koreans. (South Korea had also suspended some visas for Chinese travelers.)

The United States, Japan and South Korea no longer require any predeparture tests for travelers arriving from China, but China had not changed its rule until Tuesday.

Travelers from other countries to China, meanwhile, had been allowed to take antigen tests.

One day before the rule change was announced, Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, had called for the abolition of the P.C.R. test requirement, noting that it was costly and time-consuming for many travelers, and was motivated by a “predominance of geopolitical considerations.”

The rule “cannot be justified on public health grounds, and it is alienating the Chinese diaspora overseas, impeding China’s tourism industry, and hindering China’s post-Covid reopening efforts,” Mr. Huang wrote in a blog post on the New York-based council’s website.

China has insisted all along that its Covid measures were driven purely by science. In her announcement, Ms. Mao, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said China would “continue to scientifically optimize” its rules.

Vivian Wang is a China correspondent based in Beijing, where she writes about how the country's global rise and ambitions are shaping the daily lives of its people. More about Vivian Wang

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In accordance with the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic and to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, starting from 15 March, 2023, Antigen Rapid Test (ART, including ART home testing kit) result will be accepted for air passengers flying directly from Nepal to China instead of nucleic acid test. The Chinese Embassy in Nepal has updated its Guide on Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures for China-bound Travelers. In order to avoid any travel delays and disruptions, we recommend that all travelers read and follow the instructions on the guidance carefully.

Guide on Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures For China-bound Travelers

（Starting from March 15, 2023）

I.Pre-boarding Nucleic Acid Test

All China-bound travelers will need to take nucleic acid test or Antigen Rapid Test (ART, including ART home testing kit) for COVID-19 within 48 hours before boarding, and can only travel to China when your test result is negative. If you received a positive test result, you should only travel to China when you tested negative for COVID-19. 

ll.Health Declaration to China Customs

You are required to declare your negative test result to China Customs by filling the Health Declaration Form on the WeChat mini-program of China Customs (scan the QR code below), or at https://htdecl.chinaport.gov.cn, or via the China Customs APP.

Ill. Airline companies will no longer check the negative test results.

IV. Self-protection on the Aircraft

You are suggested to wear a mask throughout the flight and take good personal protection to reduce the risk of infection

V. Inspection upon Entry

You can go through customs with your health declaration result, and China Customs may conduct random sampling inspection according to a certain proportion. lf there are anomalies in your health declaration or you are showing symptoms such as fever, you are required to take a test by China Customs. Those whose results are positive will need to self-quarantine or seek medical treatment as notified by the authority. Those whose results are negative will go through routine quarantine inspection by China Customs in accordance with the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law and other laws and regulations.

VI. After-entry Epidemic Prevention and Control

After entry into China, you will have to strictly abide by the epidemic prevention and control requirements of the place where you stay.

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Notice on epidemic prevention and control requirements for travelers to China

Dear valued passengers, 

Beginning April 29, 2023, passengers taking international flights to China can replace nucleic acid testing with antigen self-test within 48 hours before boarding.China Southern will not be checking any test certificates prior to boarding.

Upon obtaining the negative test result, please access WeChat mini program "Customs Pocket Declaration", China Customs App "Mobile Customs" or the webpage (https://htdecl.chinaport.gov.cn), and fill out the "Exit/Entry Health Declaration Form of the People’s Republic of China". China Customs will spot check at the port of arrival based on a set percentage.

China Southern Airlines

April 28, 2023

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• What is Public Health?

A new COVID Landscape in China

Stephanie Desmon

After three years of implementing its “zero-COVID” strategy, China has dropped all COVID restrictions. In the weeks since, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have skyrocketed in a country with low immunity and limited resources to address the current surge.

In this Q&A, adapted from the  January 25 episode of Public Health On Call , Stephanie Desmon talks with Amesh Adalja , MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , who explains why China’s policies were destined to fail and why China in 2023 could look a lot like the U.S. in 2020.

Public Health On Call

This article was adapted from the January 25 episode of Public Health On Call Podcast .

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COVID was first found in China. It caused a lot of disruptions early on, but the country has a unique COVID policy. Can you explain how China has been dealing with the virus until recently?

China has moved from two different opposite poles of policy, neither of which was correct. Their first policy—called “COVID-zero” or “zero-COVID”—involved authoritarian measures aimed at eliminating the virus.

For a respiratory virus like SARS-CoV-2 that spreads efficiently through animal hosts, that type of containment strategy just isn’t sustainable. The COVID-zero policy simply didn’t respect the biology of the virus.

When you talk about the biology of the virus, do you mean that you can't just lock the doors and hope it goes away?

That’s right. Certain viruses—smallpox, for example—can be eradicated from the planet. But SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, comes from a family of viruses that causes about 30% of our common colds. Those relatives of SARS-CoV-2 are able to evolve and escape immunity, which they do all the time. This is a virus that cannot be removed once it has established itself in the population.

For respiratory viruses like this, rather than try to eliminate them, you have to instead fortify resiliency in the population.

And when you say fortify, you mean vaccination.

Vaccination is a major aspect of it, especially vaccinating high risk individuals with very potent vaccines that are highly effective. Other pieces of the puzzle include antiviral drugs like Paxlovid, expanding hospital capacity, and teaching the public how to calculate risk.

The virus is not something that will be eradicated or eliminated; people in China—and around the world—are going to be dealing with COVID in 2023 and in 2043. SARS-CoV-2 is going to become one of the respiratory viruses we [will always] contend with, so you have to teach people how to calculate risk.

How do you teach people how to live with a threat that they didn't have in 2019? You have to acclimatize them to it. We have an understanding of how the virus spreads, and we’ve laid out the tools we have to mitigate it: masks, moving gatherings outdoors, vaccines and boosters, antivirals, rapid tests, etc.

China didn't do that. Until now, they were basing their strategy on a flawed assumption that the virus could be eliminated and then everything was going to snap back to 2019, and that's not the case.

It seems like the population was set up by three years of basically lockdowns upon lockdowns. Do we know if it worked at all by reducing the number of COVID cases and deaths?

I think in the end, they were always going to have waves of COVID. They were just kind of kicking them down the road.

The best approach for China’s lockdown strategy would have been to pair it with other tactics: vaccinating high risk populations with highly effective vaccines, making rapid tests and antivirals available, and ensuring [availability of] ICU beds and ventilators. Instead it’s like they ripped off a Band-Aid, and now they’ll likely face similar issues that other countries did in the pre-vaccine era.

So after ending lockdowns and testing, China now has a real crisis on its hands. It’s seeing a spike in infections, hospitalizations, and death. What does that mean for China? And what does it mean for the rest of the world?

In China, we’re going to see a lot of preventable deaths and a lot of preventable disruption to people’s lives and the economy. I don't think that this changes the trajectory of the pandemic in the United States or any other place, because we have so much immunity in our population from prior infection, vaccinations, boosters, and combinations of those three.

The U.S. will probably see supply shocks and issues because much of our economy is dependent upon supply chains that extend into China. Travel restrictions could also affect people who travel to China and need a negative test to return.

Let’s talk about vaccines. China had its own vaccine. A lot of people got two doses, and it was later determined three doses were needed. So it would stand to reason that they would go back out and try to vaccinate people. Is that what’s happening?

The Chinese vaccine does have some effect, but it appears to wear off quickly if you only get two doses of it, especially if you're at higher risk. China’s early vaccination campaign, however, did not emphasize the importance of vaccinating the elderly, many of whom are already very vaccine-hesitant and therefore have not received their third doses.

The E.U. has also offered free supply of the more effective Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to China, but it’s been deemed illegal for Chinese citizens to receive it. That's why you see people fleeing to Hong Kong and Macao to receive Western vaccines.

What do we think the numbers are going to look like in China in the coming weeks

They are currently reporting a total of around 60,000 deaths, and they keep revising that number upward. You have to assume that with a virus like SARS-CoV-2, the more contagious omicron variants, and the lack of vaccine protection in China’s high-risk populations, that the country’s whole population will be infected.

I don't know where China’s numbers will ultimately land, and I don't know that we'll actually ever get accurate numbers.

What do you see going forward in China?

Like everywhere else, COVID will come and go. We're already seeing indications that cases may have peaked in major cities, but that's going to happen at different times across the country. Omicron will likely leave a lot of death and destruction in its wake, and then the population will have resiliency. Unfortunately, they squandered two and a half years to build that resiliency.

Stephanie Desmon is the co-host of the Public Health On Call podcast. She is the director of public relations and marketing for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs , the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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China is reopening to foreign tourists this month: Here's everything you need to know

China is reopening to foreign tourists and accepting valid visas issued before the pandemic.

China will reopen its borders to tourists and resume issuing all visas on Wednesday 15 March 2023.

It is one of the last major countries to reopen its borders to tourists following three years of COVID-19 restrictions. The announcement Tuesday came after it declared a “decisive victory” over the virus in February.

The country will resume issuing all types of visas will from Wednesday. Visa-free entry will also return at destinations such as Hainan island and for cruise ships entering Shanghai that had no visa requirement before the pandemic.

Are Chinese visas issued before the pandemic still valid?

If you were issued a visa before 28 March 2020 that is still valid, you will be allowed to enter China.

"From March 15, visas that we issued before the pandemic are still valid and will be reactivated," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters on Tuesday. 

"The review and issuance of tourist visas and other types of visas will be resumed, and visa-free entry for several places will be resumed.”

Those travelling from Hong Kong and Macao will be allowed to enter Guangdong in southern China visa-free.

Do you need a COVID-19 test to enter China?

The notice didn't specify whether vaccination certificates or negative COVID-19 tests would be required.

According to the UK's foreign travel advice, those entering China will need to register a negative PCR test prior to departure (within 48 hours of their flight's arrival). Those arriving with symptoms may be subject to an antigen test. They will be released to self-quarantine if they test positive and the symptoms are mild.

However, Wang said that China had “optimised measures for remote testing of people coming to China from relevant countries," allowing pre-boarding antigen testing instead of PCR tests. “We also hope that all parties will join China in creating favourable conditions for cross-border exchanges," he added.

In November 2022, China ended its controversial ‘circuit breaker’ mechanism. This much-criticised rule meant that all international flights to China could be banned for one to two weeks when a 'high' number of infected passengers were discovered on arrival.

In December, the country began loosening its harsh COVID zero policy and slightly lifted its restrictions on international travellers. 

On 8 January 2023, mainland China lifted its quarantine requirement for inbound travellers. It also began issuing visas for residents to travel overseas. 

What are Hong Kong's current travel rules?

Hong Kong has also gradually been lifting restrictions and now fully open to tourists.

The city scrapped mandatory hotel quarantine in September 2022. In December, authorities dropped movement restrictions and mandatory on-arrival PCR tests previously applied to international arrivals. Limits on live music and the number of diners per table in restaurants were also dropped.

In January 2023, mandatory quarantine was dropped for those who test positive for COVID-19.

As of 1 March, residents and visitors are no longer required to wear masks in public - including on public transport.

Rapid antigen testing is only required for those visiting public hospitals and residential care homes.

• When will new EU border checks come into force? Everything you need to know about EES and ETIAS
• Hong Kong is giving away 500,000 free airline tickets. Are they available to Europeans?

What are COVID cases like in China now?

Testing has “been well implemented, and the epidemic risk is generally controllable,” according to Wang.

China experienced a surge in infections after its zero-COVID policy was lifted in December. However official data on cases was limited, and many feared that the country was underreporting the situation.

The country of 1.4 billion people reported three new COVID-related deaths for Tuesday 27 December, up from one on the previous day. However, these numbers were inconsistent with what funeral parlours were reporting, as well as with the experience of much less populous countries after they re-opened.

Between 8 December 2022 and 12 January 2023, China reported just under 60,000 COVID-related deaths versus just 13 recorded the previous month. This is partly because it began including deaths from underlying conditions.

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What Could Turn China Around?

Japanese officials have communicated policy changes to the markets effectively. Most recently with last week's rate hike by the Bank of Japan, which helped the country maintain its place as the world's strongest-performing stock market in 2024 through March 22, 2024, as measured by the Nikkei 225 Index. India has also been transparent in its policy initiatives, maintaining its place as the world's strongest-performing economy in 2024 according to global ratings agency Moody's. India's economic growth accelerated to 8.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, the third consecutive quarter of growth over 8%. Among Asia's biggest three economies the exception to this policy clarity is China, where the stock market is among the weakest and the economy remains under pressure.

One of the big challenges for investors is policy changes, which tended to have a big impact on China's economy in recent years. Policies including zero-COVID rules, the crackdown on big tech companies, and restrictions on leverage at property developers have seemed to come with no warning and little clarity. Much of the recent pressure on China's stock market began in 2020, concurrent with a new government policy restriction on the property market to crackdown on the buildup of leverage in the industry and curb housing speculation. The result starved developers of capital.

Recent measures to revive the Chinese economy have been a slow drip of policies, that have been ineffective and seen by markets as reactive, uncoordinated, and targeted rather than prompt and broad. They have not been sufficient to support a sustainable turnaround in consumer confidence, which remains low due to weakness in their biggest asset: property.

China's consumer confidence remains pinned to lows

Source: Charles Schwab, Bloomberg data as of 3/21/2024.

While China's stocks have bounced higher since their multi-year low on January 22, with the MSCI China Index rising 13% through March 21, 2024, sentiment remains pessimistic. China's stocks are flat so far in 2024 and valuations are in line with 20-year lows, as you can see in the chart below. There have been some green shoots, with better-than-expected export growth in the combined January-February data, supported by the global manufacturing recovery we believe has started. However, China's economic growth is likely to remain muted due to the weight of the property market slowdown and modest fiscal support. While policymakers around the world are looking at rate cuts to stimulate growth, high interest rates have not been what ails China's economy—it's weak consumer, business, and investor confidence. There are also the trade risks we covered recently in our take on the impact of the 2024 elections .

China's stocks valuation at low end of range

Source: Charles Schwab, MSCI, FactSet data as of 3/21/2024.

The price–earnings ratio, also known as P/E ratio, is the ratio of a company's share price to the company's earnings per share and is a measure of valuation. NTM indicates earnings expectations over the next 12 months.

On March 5, China's Premier delivered the "Government Work Report" to the National Peoples' Congress. According to the report, the GDP target for the year was set at "about 5%"—the same as last year. Frustratingly, while the report said support was needed on "all fronts," it failed to announce any major new policy initiatives. Chinese policymakers left the fiscal deficit unchanged, avoided major moves to boost consumption and gave few specifics on solving the real estate crisis. It's our belief that without further support, China's economy and stock market may struggle to improve. What unexpected policy changes could China announce to sustainably revive its economy and stock market?

• A government guarantee of homebuyer deposits at troubled property developers could help boost economic growth by turning around consumer confidence from its recession-like lows. Homeowners who put down big deposits with developers to build a home are now worried about not receiving their home or not getting their money back from failing developers, which seems to have prompted them to pull back on their spending. Pent-up savings in China continue to grow and could be unleashed to the benefit of China's economy and businesses (particularly the banks and real estate companies) and to global consumer product makers with exposure to China, particularly European luxury goods producers.
• Loosening capital controls could help boost stocks by easing the ability of cash rich companies to do share buybacks. China's strict rules regarding moving money in or out of the country make share buybacks challenging since most of the earnings of these companies are generated in mainland China, but the shares are listed in New York or Hong Kong. The stock market values of some giant Chinese companies, including those such as Alibaba, Baidu, and JD.com, are approaching the amounts of cash and equivalents on their balance sheets despite these being profitable and growing companies. That may be due to the perception that the Chinese government could announce a policy change at any time, imposing costly new fines, taxes, or regulations. Loosening capital controls could boost confidence by shareholders in the cash stockpiles held by many Chinese companies being distributed to them rather than risk being plundered by policy changes.

*in Hong Kong Dollars (HKD)

Source: Charles Schwab, Bloomberg data as of 3/21/2024. All corporate names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Supporting documentation for any claims or statistical information is available upon request.

• Measures to reduce government regulations and encourage entrepreneurship could support business confidence. Years of abrupt policy changes with tough regulations imposed on educational tutoring, video game developers, businesses consultants, and mobile app creators, among others, may have left both established businesses and entrepreneurs in an unsupportive environment. The latest ruling from Beijing that requires all mobile app providers to submit their business details to the government is one example of policies that may stifle innovation. Reversing some of these regulations could be seen as fostering a more innovative environment. This effect was seen in the performance of video game developers in late December when a regulatory proposal was rescinded that would have required them to implement measures to cap user spending in games and ban "excessive" rewards. The original response to the proposal caused a plunge in China's gaming stocks. China's regulators have followed up by approving more new game titles each month since the shift in policy. NetEase, one of China's biggest gaming companies, rebounded 40% from its lows following the policy change.

There are no signs of any major imminent shift in policy in China. But it is worth keeping in mind that China's policymakers rarely signal such changes in advance. Any surprises could potentially trigger sharp rebounds in China's stock market, like in late 2022 when the zero-COVID restrictions were suddenly dropped. China's stocks shot up 60% over the subsequent three-month period.

China's stocks soared 60% following surprise end to zero-COVID policies

Source: Charles Schwab, Bloomberg data from 9/1/2022 through 3/31/2023 as of 3/23/2024.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged, do not incur management fees, costs and expenses and cannot be invested in directly.

Until such a change in policy is made (if at all), China may remain a drag on the MSCI Emerging Market (EM) Index and a key reason emerging market stocks remain less attractive relative to those in developed international markets.

Get Schwab's view on international markets. 

More from charles schwab.

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Performance may be affected by risks associated with non-diversification, including investments in specific countries or sectors. Additional risks may also include, but are not limited to, investments in foreign securities, especially emerging markets, real estate investment trusts (REITs), fixed income, small capitalization securities and commodities. Each individual investor should consider these risks carefully before investing in a particular security or strategy.

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Asia Market Outlook 2023: Regional Resilience Amid Strained Global Markets

D espite global economic headwinds, including a likely recession in developed markets, we believe economic growth in many Asian markets will remain resilient in 2023 as the recovery from COVID-19 continues.

We think China’s faster-than-expected reopening – which began with the end of its zero-COVID strategy in early December – may also boost both the global and regional economies, in particular for tourism-reliant Thailand and China-growth-sensitive Malaysia. Our baseline 2023 annual GDP growth forecast for China is above 5%, which we expect to be led by pent-up consumer demand, up from 3% in 2022.

Overall, while global economic activity has been more resilient than expected in 2022, the outlook has deteriorated. Financial conditions have tightened as central banks continue to battle inflation. Our baseline view is for modest recessions and moderating inflation across developed markets (read more in our latest Cyclical Outlook , “Strained Markets Strong Bonds ”).

Emerging Asian markets appear poised to perform well down the road, but we believe much still depends on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s ability to tame inflation and China’s ability to reactivate economic activity.

China outlook: The faster the reopening, the earlier the recovery

We are constructive on China’s recovery in 2023 because its economic cycles tend to be policy-driven. As President Xi Jinping and his team explained at the Central Economic Work Conference in December, China’s economic agenda will be focused on one thing this year: growth. Key policy focus areas include expanding domestic consumption, attracting and deploying foreign capital, stabilizing the property market, and revamping the tech sector.

Our projection for China’s 2023 growth factors in 2022’s low base and strong rebound in consumption, especially in the service sector, and a drag from net exports of -0.6 percentage points (ppt). Travel and mobility indicators such as intra-city traffic and subway journeys, which tend to be closely linked to retail sales, bounced back strongly across the country in January 2023, suggesting solid momentum in consumption.

We expect China’s consumer inflation will rise from 2% in 2022 to 2.7% in 2023 – below the official target of 3% – though pork prices could push headline inflation above 3% around mid-2023, before pork inflation falls in the second half of the year.

Overall, Chinese households’ excess savings should be able to support the growth rebound, but the strength and sustainability of the recovery will rely on a stable job market and rising wages.

We believe macroeconomic policy will likely remain supportive in the first half of the year and then begin to normalize. We expect the government will continue to relax regulations in sectors such as housing, education, tech, and gaming in order to stabilize growth.

Fiscal policy will be front-loaded in the first half of the year to support infrastructure, but will likely be gradually phased out in the second half of 2023 after the organic recovery begins. Monetary policy, in the form of credit easing, should continue to support small to medium-sized enterprises, the property market, manufacturing, and green investment. We do not expect cuts to the 2.75% policy rate, as spiking inflation in the first half of 2023 could constrain monetary easing, but policy should normalize in the second half as the economy gets back on track.

Potential headwinds to China Outlook

The export sector, which was a key growth driver for China during the pandemic, poses a potential headwind. Exports have seen a sharp decline in some of the major developed markets, as consumer demand switches from manufactured goods to services. In U.S. dollar terms, Chinese exports fell 9.9% in December from a year earlier, the third straight month of decline, according to the General Administration of Customs.

While housing-related indicators remain weak, we expect the property market to stabilize over the course of this year after a raft of coordinated policy measures (see our recent Viewpoint, “China Steps up Property Support: Is This the Turning Point for the Struggling Sector?“), particularly for the better-run private developers who have not defaulted. In terms of growth contribution, housing investment is likely to be flat in 2023 versus a major drag in 2022.

We see some upside risks to our over 5% growth projection for China. We think 6% growth is achievable, but will require more policy support, a quicker property market recovery, and a more favorable external environment. However, several downside risks remain in the medium term, including geopolitics and the tradeoff between China’s structural reform and short-term growth.

Emerging Asia ex China outlook: Divergence from rest of the world to continue, but reversing last year’s trend

Post-pandemic, emerging Asia was slower to recover than the rest of the world and didn’t experience much in the way of demand-driven inflationary pressure. In 2023, we expect this divergence in growth-inflation dynamics to continue, but in reverse.

While the rest of the globe faces slowing growth and inflation, we believe emerging Asia is likely to see resilient growth and mounting core inflationary pressures as the COVID recovery continues amid accommodative monetary and fiscal policies (see Figure 1). China’s reopening will likely be incrementally supportive for the broader Asian region, especially Thailand and Malaysia.

We expect some countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia, to continue with their policy normalization given the growth-inflation risks they face in 2023 and relatively accommodative policy. With the exception of Indonesia, most countries in the region have shown no sign of fiscal consolidation. Long-end duration demand from pension funds, insurance and portfolio inflows could keep interest rate curves flat in 2023, and we largely don’t expect rate cuts within the region. Long-term bond yield spreads over Treasuries are trading significantly tighter, allowing central banks in the region greater latitude to continue normalizing interest rates, given the growth-inflation dynamics (see Figure 2).

Investment considerations for broader Asia markets

In 2023, we expect duration (interest-sensitive securities) to underperform across the region, while currencies should outperform core markets (adjusted for historical betas) and emerging market peers – reversing last year’s trend – as the region’s growth-inflation dynamics diverge from the rest of the world.

Overall, we see significant opportunities in Asia credit for investors who employ an active and selective investment approach. Thematically, we believe there is an opportunity to capitalize on the cyclical recovery of the COVID reopening, such as investing in select transportation sector companies across the region. The technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector is an area where scalable credit trades can be made for investors who anticipate that current regulatory corrective actions may be largely completed, with growth set to resume. Gaming is another area that exhibits the theme of resumed travel and consumption, although we should caution that valuations now appear to reflect much of the normalization, with a notable retracement of the spread widening seen last year.

Significant opportunities, but careful portfolio positioning required

Within the context of global headwinds and a likely recession in developed markets, we are cautious in more economically sensitive areas of financial markets, but remain relatively constructive on the macroeconomic picture in Asia. China’s reopening and its growth focus have helped brighten the outlook for the region, and especially for the nations that have stronger economic links with China.

However, rigorous risk management and careful security selection will be crucial for investors in the region. We believe alpha can be captured for selective country allocation and credit rotation, while keeping a keen eye on developed market central bank actions, geopolitical developments, and policy evolution over the course of this year.

For our global economic outlook in 2023 and its investment implications, please read our Cyclical Outlook, “Strained Markets Strong Bonds .”

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Prevalence and associated factors of insomnia symptoms after ending china’s dynamic zero-covid policy: a cross-sectional survey of frontline nursing staff in chinese hospitals.

• 1 School of Educational Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China
• 2 School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui, China
• 3 Graduate School of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui, China
• 4 School of Nursing, Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China
• 5 Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
• 6 Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College), Wuhu, Anhui, China
• 7 Department of Hemodialysis, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College), Wuhu, Anhui, China

Background: After the Chinese government announced the end of the dynamic zero-COVID policy on January 8, 2023, the COVID-19 pandemic peaked. Frontline nursing staff are at high risk of infection transmission due to their frequent contact with COVID-19 patients. In addition, due to the ending of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy, frontline nursing staff have grappled with increased workload, fatigue, and more. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of insomnia symptoms in frontline nursing staff and its influencing factors following the end of the policy.

Methods: Between January and February 2023, this study was conducted by the Wenjuanxing platform to survey frontline nursing staff in a hospital in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. All the nursing staff included in this study had a COVID-19 infection. The questionnaires included the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), PC-PTSD-5 Chinese Version Scale, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, The 2-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-2) Scale, and the burden of COVID-19 Scale. Binary logistic regression methods were used to identify variables associated with insomnia symptoms.

Results: Among the 694 frontline nursing staff, 74.5% (517/694) exhibited insomnia symptoms. Fear of COVID-19 ( p  < 0.001), the burden of COVID-19 ( p  < 0.05), PTSD ( p  < 0.001), and higher technical titles ( p  < 0.008) were highly correlated with insomnia symptoms in frontline nursing staff. Psychological resilience ( p  < 0.001) was a protective factor for insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff.

Conclusion: After ending China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy, the prevalence of insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff is generally higher. This study highlights the association between insomnia symptoms and PTSD, fear of COVID-19, COVID-19 burden, and resilience. Psychological assistance is needed for frontline nursing staff to prevent insomnia symptoms and protect the mental health of frontline nursing staff after the end of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic is a significant challenge to global public health ( 1 ). It not only poses a significant threat to individual physical health but also causes severe mental health distress to people ( 2 , 3 ). Due to the discovery that omicron variants are less pathogenic ( 4 ), the Chinese government officially ended the Dynamic Zero-COVID policy on January 8, 2023. Accordingly, it stopped all centralized quarantine and large-scale nucleic acid testing ( 5 ). However, Omicron variants have stronger transmissibility ( 6 ) and triggered a new wave of infections across China ( 7 ), resulting in a rapid surge in the number of infections in a short time ( 8 ). Like most countries worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the Chinese population and put enormous pressure on medical workers. After the Chinese government adjusted its response to COVID-19, there was an increase in patients and a shortage of medical resources within a certain period, which had a specific impact on the psychology of frontline medical staff ( 9 ). The nursing industry is prone to reduced melatonin levels and abnormal rhythm due to its unique characteristics of high stress, high load, and frequent night shifts ( 10 ). Rhythm disorder might lead to problems such as insomnia, difficulty concentrating, and even depression ( 11 ). It is well known that an appreciable segment of the frontline nursing staff has suffered from insomnia symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Vargas et al. ( 12 ) conducted a prospective cohort study and reported that insomnia symptoms may be associated with experiencing more chronic COVID-19 symptoms.

Insomnia symptoms refer to the subjective feeling of difficulty falling asleep, maintaining sleep for a long time, or being unable to achieve the effect of rest after waking up ( 13 , 14 ). Insomnia symptoms are a complex and common problem affecting approximately 10–15% of adults ( 15 , 16 ) worldwide. Insomnia symptoms are often associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes, reduced quality of life, and even an increased risk of death, leading to significant global public health troubles ( 16 – 18 ). Research has found that insomnia symptoms have a high correlation with chronic diseases, and insomnia symptoms could bring significant direct and indirect costs ( 19 ). Insomnia symptoms not only seriously damage the physical and mental health of nursing staff but also reduce the efficiency and quality of nursing staff’s clinical nursing work and ultimately affect the safety of clinical nursing ( 20 ). Studies have shown that in the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, insomnia and PTSD symptoms increase dramatically. The results also show that insomnia symptoms seem to have been highly correlated with post-traumatic stress disorder ( 21 ).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of insomnia symptoms in Chinese medical staff was 28.75%. Of these, approximately one-third to one-half of the frontline nursing staff reported insomnia symptoms ( 22 ). One study showed that the prevalence of insomnia symptoms among Chinese frontline nursing staff fighting COVID-19 in Wuhan was 52.8 ( 23 ). The incidence of insomnia symptoms among frontline medical staff in Shanghai, China, during the COVID-19 pandemic was 65.9%. ursing staff were more likely to have poor sleep quality and insomnia symptoms than doctors ( 24 ).

However, to our knowledge, there has been no previous study specifically on insomnia symptoms and related factors among frontline nursing staff in China after the end of China’s Dynamic Zero-COVID policy. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the insomnia symptoms status of frontline nursing staff and its influencing factors after the end of China’s Dynamic Zero-COVID policy. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to (1) examine the prevalence of insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff after the end of China’s Dynamic Zero-COVID policy; (2) examine the relationship between insomnia symptoms and PTSD, fear of COVID-19, COVID-19 burden and resilience among frontline nursing staff.

Materials and methods

Population and sample.

The current study was conducted at Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College, from March 2022 to August 2022. This study was a cross-sectional study among frontline nurses who have been infected with COVID-19. Patients voluntarily completed and returned the questionnaire and agreed to participate in the study. They could exit the survey at any time.

Participants in this study must meet the following inclusion criteria: (1) Frontline nursing staff during the study; (2) Understand the purpose and content of this study; (3) Have been infected with COVID-19; and (4) Willing to participate in the survey and sign the online electronic informed consent form.

Data collection procedures

The questionnaire was produced using the most widely used professional online survey website Wenjuanxing (URL: https://www.wjx.cn/ ). Members of the research team use QQ groups, WeChat groups and other chat tools to conduct outreach. To ensure data reliability, the same IP address can only be sent once. All questions must be answered prior to shipment. It would take about 5–10 min to complete all the questions. Nursing staff who completed the questionnaire forwarded the QR code and invited colleagues to participate. Participants carefully filled out the questionnaire and submitted it via smartphone or computer. A total of 710 electronic questionnaires were distributed, and after eliminating invalid questionnaires, 694 valid questionnaires were eventually included (details are shown in Figure 1 ).

Figure 1 . Sample selection process for this cross-sectional study.

Instruments

Athens insomnia scale.

The scale consists of eight items: the quality and duration of a night’s sleep and the respondent’s health status the next day. The first five points refer to falling asleep, night awakening, final awakening, total sleep time, and sleep quality, while the last three refer to functional deterioration the next day. Questions include “Recently, the delay in falling asleep (time after turning off the lights to falling asleep): no problem (less than 10 min), slight delay (10–30 min), significant delay (30–60 min), and severe delay or No sleep (more than 1 h)” and seven other questions. The score for each question ranges from 0 (no problem) to 3 (severe problem). The total score ranges from 0 to 24 points, the higher the score, the more severe the insomnia symptoms are, and the score ≥ 6 is considered as insomnia symptoms ( 25 ). The AIS has been reported to have good psychometric properties in the Chinese population ( 26 ). In the present study, the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.786.

PC-PTSD-5 Chinese version scale

The scale ( 27 ) consists of 5-items to assess PTSD experienced in the past month. Questions include “Have you ever had nightmares related to COVID-19 or have uncontrollable thoughts about COVID-19”? Each item is scored on a second level (0 = no; 1 = yes), with a total score ≥ 3 being classified as “PTSD symptoms.” The scale has been validated among family members of Chinese medical workers during COVID-19 pandemic ( 28 ). The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.915 in the present study.

Fear of COVID-19 scale

The scale ( 29 ) consists of 7 items, each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree,” 5 = “strongly agree”). Questions include “Thinking about COVID-19 makes me feel threatened.” The score ≥ 21 is considered as “fear of COVID-19.” The FCV-19S has been reported to have good psychometric properties in the Chinese population ( 29 ). In the present study, the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.86.

The 2-item Connor-Davidson resilience scale

The scale ( 30 ) consists of 2 items from items 1 and 5 of the CD-RISC-10 ( 31 ). Questions include “I can adapt when people and things around me change.” Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale from 0 (never) to 4 (always). Research has proven that these two items best represent “adaptability” and “bouncing back” and have been proven to have good effectiveness in the Chinese population ( 32 ).

COVID-19 burden scale

COVID-19 burden was measured using the scale created by Nikunlaakso ( 33 ): “I have been afraid for my health because of the COVID-19 pandemic” and “My workload has increased because of the COVID-19 situation.” Measuring the COVID-19 burden on frontline nursing staff using two statements created by A: ① “I have been worried about my health due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” ② “COVID-19 pandemic has increased my workload,” with a response scale of yes/no. Respondents who answered two “yes” were classified as having a COVID-19 burden. The COVID-19 burden scale has been reported to have good psychometric properties in the Chinese population ( 27 ). In the present study, the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82.

Ethical considerations

This study was conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines and was approved by the Nursing Department of Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College (No. 2023-02-01). Prior to their participation, all participants were fully informed about the study’s details and provided written informed consent. The study procedures adhered to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Statistical analysis

Statistical analysis of all data in this study was performed using SPSS 26.0 (IBM Corporation). p  < 0.05(two-tailed) was the significant level. Demographic characteristics are presented with mean, standard deviation (SD), numbers, and percentages. Chi-square tests were used to compare the differences in categorical variables between the insomnia symptom group and the non-insomnia symptom group. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyze factors associated with insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff, and OR (odds ratio) and 95% CI (confidence interval) were calculated.

Participant characteristics

Among 694 Chinese frontline nursing staff included in the data analysis, the respondents ranged from 18 to 60 years old, with the mean age being (25.56 ± 5.13) years old. 37 (5.3%) were male, and 657 (94.7%) were female. 159 (22.9%) were unmarried, 62 (8.9%) were married but childless, and 465 (67.0%) were married and had children. Besides, 36 (5.2%) were with unrated technical titles, 310 (44.7%) with Junior technical titles, 318 (45.8%) were with intermediate technical titles, and 30 (4.3%) were with high technical titles. Further socio-demographic information is displayed in Table 1 .

Table 1 . Participants’ demographic information ( N  = 694).

Factors associated with insomnia symptoms in the univariate analysis

In this study, the prevalence of insomnia symptoms among the frontline nursing staff was 74.5% (517/694). Insomnia symptoms are more severe among frontline nurses with the following characteristics: junior professional title or above, working for 1 year or more, burden of COVID-19, fear of COVID-19, and PTSD symptoms ( p  < 0.01, Table 2 ).

Table 2 . Characteristics of the participants based on the presence of insomnia symptoms ( N  = 694).

Correlations between insomnia symptoms and relevant indicators

As shown in Table 3 , the PTSD, the fear of COVID-19, working while sick, and the burden of COVID-19 of frontline nursing staff had positive correlations among their insomnia symptoms ( p  < 0.01). In contrast, resilience had a negative correlation ( p  < 0.01).

Table 3 . Correlation between insomnia symptoms and relevant indicators in frontline nursing staff.

Binary analysis factors associated with insomnia symptoms

In the binary logistic regression analysis, put independent variables ( p  < 0.05) and dependent variables (grouping, 0 = non-insomnia symptoms group, 1 = insomnia symptoms group) into the model. Factors affecting insomnia symptoms in frontline nursing staff are shown in Table 4 . Insomnia symptoms are more severe among frontline nursing staff with PTSD (OR = 4.693, 95% CI 2.325–9.473). The more severe the fear of COVID-19, the higher the insomnia symptoms score (OR = 2.307, 95% CI 1.541–3.452). COVID-19 burden increased the risk of insomnia symptoms (OR = 2.093, 95% CI 1.407–3.114). Compared with ungraded frontline nursing staff, frontline nursing staff with high professional titles showed more symptoms of insomnia symptoms (OR = 3.947, 95% CI 1.769–8.807; OR = 3.626, 95% CI 1.630–8.067; OR = 5.256, 95% CI 1.550–17.823). Resilience was a protective factor for insomnia symptoms (OR = 0.478, 95% CI 0.321–0.713).

Table 4 . Binary logistic regression analysis of factors associated with insomnia symptoms.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the insomnia symptoms of frontline nursing staff have attracted increasing attention from domestic and foreign scientists. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the prevalence of insomnia symptoms and influencing factors among frontline nursing staff in China after the ending of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy. In this study, we found that the prevalence of insomnia symptoms based on a total Athens Insomnia Scale score of ≥6 was 74.5% among Chinese frontline nursing staff, higher than the annual incidence of insomnia symptoms in adults ( 34 ), and the ratio of insomnia symptoms among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic ( 35 ). This difference may be associated with the surge in COVID-19 cases in China after the ending of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy. Because most frontline nursing staff had never experienced such a prolonged and severe epidemic, leading to increased work pressure and resulting in insomnia symptoms. This study did not find the impact of the disease itself (the stage of COVID-19 infection, working while sick) on sleep. This may be because everyone is infected, so the impact of the disease itself already exists, so the difference is narrowed.

After the ending of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy in December 2022, the frequency and number of hospitalizations due to Covid-19 increased dramatically ( 36 ). During the epidemic of COVID-19, nursing staff, as an important part of the anti-epidemic staff, bear various negative effects caused by COVID-19. COVID-19 can cause distress for nursing staff working in hospitals, firstly because of the increased shift hours and disrupted biological rhythms during quarantine, which can lead to insomnia symptoms ( 37 ), and secondly because of the increased risk of infection, isolation, and loss of social support, friends and relatives, which can impair their resilience ( 38 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline nursing staff have been caring for infected patients, making them more vulnerable to the psychological consequences. Studies have found that health care workers caring for COVID-19 patients were at higher risk of insomnia symptoms ( 39 , 40 ), burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ( 27 ) due to excessive work pressure. Among all healthcare professionals, frontline nursing staff are particularly susceptible to sleep disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 41 ). This implies that after the ending of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy, the risk of insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff caregivers under long-term physical and psychological stress increases significantly.

Our result is consistent with a previous study that the fear of COVID-19 is associated with insomnia symptoms. Study have shown that there was a significant relationship between the level of fear of COVID-19 and insomnia symptoms ( 42 ). Research has shown that the fear of COVID-19 among Chinese mental health professionals increased after the end of the dynamic zero-COVID policy ( 43 ). More than one-third of fire service recruits feared COVID-19 after the end of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy ( 44 ), and “Sleep difficulties caused by worry about COVID-19” was the central symptom in the network structure of COVID-19 fear. A study in the United Kingdom found that more than half of mental health professionals experienced insomnia symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 45 ). Studies have found that mass media might have exacerbated the fear of COVID-19 due to their over-reporting of inaccurate news on social media, such as the “coronavirus infodemic,” which could exacerbate people’s psychological distress ( 43 ). Furthermore, avoiding excessive fear of COVID-19 may be beneficial in alleviating insomnia symptoms among frontline nurses.

We found that the higher the PTSD score, the more likely the frontline nursing staff were to suffer from insomnia symptoms. This finding could be explained by the following fact: PTSD symptom severity is significantly correlated with insomnia symptoms, and the relationship between PTSD severity and insomnia symptoms seems to be mediated entirely by nightmare severity ( 46 ). It has been argued that, for individuals, the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic can be viewed as a mass traumatic event, and PTSD may develop following trauma ( 47 ). The surge in hospital admissions due to COVID-19 has increased the workload on nursing staff. One study found that 44.1% of SARS patients developed PTSD symptoms within 2 to 46 months after discharge ( 48 ). Also, the research found that PTSD caused shortened sleeping time and poorer quality of life in frontline nursing staff exposed to COVID-19 ( 49 ). These results suggested that future attention should be paid to the PTSD symptoms among frontline nursing staff, and effective measures to alleviate these symptoms should be taken.

Our study found that nursing staff with higher professional titles had more severe insomnia symptoms than nursing staff who were unrated. Nursing staff’s professional title is the basis for their career planning, directly affecting their participation in learning, training, and professional title promotion in clinical work. Nursing staff with higher professional titles usually have rich clinical experience and professional knowledge and hold corresponding management positions. In addition to busy nursing work, they also need to deal with more complex medical management and organizational issues and assume more responsibilities and decision-making, which may also cause them to face tremendous pressure. At the same time, nursing staff with higher professional titles tend to be older, and studies have found that older people are more likely to suffer from insomnia symptoms ( 50 ).

Consistent with a previous study ( 49 ), this study found resilience was a protective factor in insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff. Resilience is the ability to help individuals cope with adversity and recover quickly from stressful experiences. It can help individuals cope with situations such as crises, trauma, and adversity ( 50 ). Poor resilience was one of the essential factors leading to insomnia ( 51 ). A study reported that psychological resilience was a critical protective factor in reducing COVID-19 fear ( 52 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, resilience can help healthcare workers protect themselves ( 53 ), help them channel and cope with the stress caused by the pandemic, and thus better respond to disasters and survive the crisis ( 54 ).

Limitations

This study may have the following limitations: (1) Cross-sectional design: The cross-sectional design adopted in this study limits the ability to determine the causal relationship between insomnia symptoms and related factors. (2) Self-report measures: This study used self-reported insomnia symptoms by frontline nursing staff, which may introduce memory bias and subjective interpretation. (3) Regional limitations: This study was only conducted in one region of China, and the results may not fully represent frontline nursing staff in other countries or regions.

In summary, after the ending of China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy, frontline nursing staff showed severe symptoms of insomnia symptoms. PTSD, COVID-19 fear, and COVID-19 burden were all significantly associated with insomnia symptoms, while psychological resilience was a protective factor for insomnia symptoms. Health committees and policymakers should pay attention to the impact of the above factors on insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff and actively develop effective intervention measures to reduce insomnia symptoms among frontline nursing staff.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by this study was conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines and the Nursing Department of Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College (No. 2023-02-01). The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author contributions

MZ: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. CC: Investigation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. QL: Data curation, Formal analysis, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. NZ: Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft. ZZ: Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. XT: Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. BX: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. HL: Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by Anhui Provincial University Scientific Research Key Project (2023AH051733), the National Natural Science Fund of China (32371112), Anhui Province Educational Science Research Project (JK23173), Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Science of Anhui Province on Adolescent Mental Health and Crisis Intelligence Intervention (SYS2023B09), the Industry-University Cooperation Collaborative Education Project of the Ministry of Education (220905875062412), the Anhui Provincial College Outstanding Young Talents Support Program (gxyq2022045), the Teaching Quality and teaching reform project of Wannan Medical College (2020jyxm58), and the Teaching Reform Project of Wannan Medical College (2021zybz06).

Acknowledgments

First, we thank the study participants and the reviewers for their details. Besides, we would like to thank “WenJuanXing” for providing us with the data collection platform.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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43. Lam, MI, Chen, P, Zhang, Q, Sha, S, An, FR, Su, Z, et al. Prevalence of COVID-19 fear and its association with quality of life and network structure among Chinese mental health professionals after ending China's dynamic zero-COVID policy: a national survey. Front Public Health . (2023) 11:1280688. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1280688

44. Liu, J, Si, TL, Chen, P, Wang, YY, Su, Z, Cheung, T, et al. Prevalence of COVID-19 fear and its association with quality of life among fire service recruits after ceasing the dynamic zero-COVID policy in China. Front Public Health . (2023) 11:1257943. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1257943

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46. Mei, S, Liang, L, Ren, H, Hu, Y, Qin, Z, Cao, R, et al. Association between perceived stress and post-traumatic stress disorder among medical staff during the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan City. Front Public Health . (2021) 9:666460. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.666460

47. Raudenská, J, Steinerová, V, Javůrková, A, Urits, I, Kaye, AD, Viswanath, O, et al. Occupational burnout syndrome and post-traumatic stress among healthcare professionals during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol . (2020) 34:553–60. doi: 10.1016/j.bpa.2020.07.008

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Keywords: insomnia, symptoms, COVID, policy, China

Citation: Zhang M, Chi C, Liu Q, Zhou N, Zhou Z, Tao X, Xuan B and Liu H (2024) Prevalence and associated factors of insomnia symptoms after ending China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy: a cross-sectional survey of frontline nursing staff in Chinese hospitals. Front. Public Health . 12:1363048. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1363048

Received: 08 January 2024; Accepted: 19 March 2024; Published: 02 April 2024.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Chi, Liu, Zhou, Zhou, Tao, Xuan and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Bin Xuan, [email protected] ; Huan Liu, [email protected]

† These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Time to break the glass: Fixing Canada’s productivity problem

Introduction.

Good morning. Canada’s economy was built by trade and immigration. Halifax is not just a key port—it has also been the landing spot for countless new Canadians. So I’m glad to be here, speaking to a group like the Halifax Partnership, which is dedicated to helping Canadian businesses grow and thrive.

We’ve just passed the fourth anniversary of the start of the COVID‑19 pandemic. It’s been four difficult years. Beyond its human toll, the pandemic upended economies around the world and sparked the biggest global inflationary episode in decades. This led central banks—including the Bank of Canada—to raise interest rates sharply so that we could get inflation under control.

For the past two years or so, the Bank’s Governing Council has focused on restoring price stability. That’s almost all we’ve talked about in our speeches. And we’ve heard directly from Canadians who have struggled with inflation and who are feeling the impacts of higher interest rates.

The good news is that monetary policy is working, and inflation has come a long way down. We’re not all the way back to target, and we know we need to finish the job. But we have made a lot of progress. And so it’s a good time to reflect on how the economy has changed in Canada and around the world and to think about what those changes mean for the future.

When we look ahead, we see a future where inflation may be more of a threat than it has been over the past few decades. We know that many of the forces that helped create a benign environment for inflation in the past, such as globalization, are going to fade away, or even reverse. We know that changing demographics and the economic impacts of climate change will tend to put upward pressure on prices. Persistent global trade tensions also raise the risk of future inflation.

So, at the Bank of Canada, we’re turning our thoughts—as well as our speeches—to this future. And today I want to talk about a topic that is critical to our ability to navigate a future that’s more prone to inflation: productivity.

Productivity is a way to inoculate the economy against inflation. An economy with low productivity can grow only so quickly before inflation sets in. But an economy with strong productivity can have faster growth, more jobs and higher wages with less risk of inflation. That’s why I want to talk about Canada’s long-standing, poor record on productivity and show you just how big the problem is. You’ve seen those signs that say, “In emergency, break glass.” Well, it’s time to break the glass.

Canada’s labour productivity eked out a small gain at the end of last year, according to Statistics Canada. But that came after six straight quarters where productivity fell. Of course, the pandemic was a major disruptor for the economy. During the pandemic, the resourcefulness and ingenuity of Canadian business leaders was put to full use. Companies adjusted their business models and ways of working. Given how nimble companies were, we thought productivity would improve coming out of the pandemic as firms found their footing and workers trained back up. We’ve seen that happen in the US economy, but it hasn’t happened here. In fact, the level of productivity in Canada’s business sector is more or less unchanged from where it was seven years ago.

People have been sounding the alarm, but it can be hard to feel a sense of urgency about an abstract concept like productivity. Most people, when they hear that we need to improve productivity, think they’re being told they have to work harder or work longer hours to produce more, or maybe take less time off.

That’s not the case. Labour productivity measures how much an economy produces per hour of work. Increasing productivity means finding ways for people to create more value during the time they’re at work. This is a goal to aim for, not something to fear. When a company increases productivity, that means more revenue, which allows the company to pay higher wages to its workers without having to raise prices. Ultimately, higher productivity helps the economy generate more wealth for everyone. The bottom line is that the benefits from raising productivity are there no matter what your role is: for workers, for businesses and, yes, for central bankers, too. I’ll come back to this point later.

First, I’m going to spend some time today spelling out the factors that determine productivity. I’ll review Canada’s record for clues about how we can improve, and I’ll talk about what we can all do to raise Canada’s productivity and make our economy more resilient.

Ingredients of productivity, and Canada’s record

Economists will tell you that three factors determine how productive an economy’s workforce is: capital intensity, labour composition and multifactor productivity. These are the types of words that often lead non-economists to tune out. But they’re important, and once you get past the jargon, they’re not that complicated. So, let’s look at each one.

Capital intensity is about equipping workers with better tools. If you run a snow-clearing business, your workers will be able to clear more driveways if they have solid shovels that don’t break easily. Of course, give them a snow blower and they’ll be able to clear many more driveways than with just shovels. Invest in pickup trucks with plows, and they can do even more.

The most natural way to think about capital intensity is in physical terms like machinery, but of course some of the biggest advances in productivity have come through improvements in computing power and the ability to use and move information. The smartphone in your pocket has way more computing power than the spaceship that first took humans to the moon. These advances continue to put more capability in the hands of employees, giving them the ability to be more productive across a wide range of industries, whether goods or services.

Labour composition in an economy measures the skill level of people in the labour force and how much training they receive. The more skills people have and the more training they receive, the more value they can generate on the job.

Finally, there’s multifactor productivity , which measures how efficiently capital and labour are being used. This can refer to intangibles such as how much competition a company faces, economies of scale, management practices and many others. It can also refer to how well companies are taking advantage of technologies such as machine learning and generative artificial intelligence.

Those are the ingredients of productivity. Now, when people measure productivity in an economy, they are looking either at its level—how much value an economy is producing for every hour worked—or at the growth rate of that productivity. Canada has been struggling on both measures for a while.

Back in 1984, the Canadian economy was producing 88% of the value generated by the US economy per hour. That’s not great. But by 2022, Canadian productivity had fallen to just 71% of that of the United States. Over this same period of time, Canada also fell behind our G7 peers, with only Italy seeing a larger decline in productivity relative to the United States.

Improving productivity in Canada needs to be a priority for everyone, and there are two basic strategies for doing it. One is to have the economy focus more on the industries that add greater value than less-productive activities. The other strategy is to keep doing the jobs we’re doing but do them more efficiently. Ideally, Canada would use both strategies, leading to an economy with strong productivity growth and a large concentration of high-value industries.

Unfortunately, Canada’s recent record isn’t very good on either front. That may seem strange. After all, Canada is known for some high-value industries, such as energy and aerospace. But while the level of productivity here is high, the growth rates aren’t necessarily strong. At the same time, some industries in Canada have shown pretty good productivity growth over the past couple of decades. 1 But these include sectors such as retail and wholesale trade, which tend not to generate the same amount of output per worker as sectors like energy or aerospace.

I want to be clear here. Improving productivity doesn’t mean shutting down whole sections of the economy and telling workers they have to go learn new sets of skills. It means paying attention to where the future high-value industries are coming from. We need to ensure that the right incentives are in place to allow companies in these industries to grow and thrive. And they need the right supports, such as access to markets and financing.

I expect this resonates with you here in the room. History shows that advances in productivity often come from the start-ups, the new companies led by entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas. Organizations such as the Halifax Partnership and other incubators are encouraging the companies that can lead us to the next great breakthrough in productivity. And you can see examples across the region, particularly in the clean tech, ocean tech and agritech sectors.

How to improve

I want to turn now to what we can do to improve Canada’s productivity. Many studies have looked at this issue over the years, and there’s still no consensus about the causes of Canada’s poor performance and where policy-makers should put their energies first. But we can’t afford to wait for complete certainty. There is much we can all be doing to boost productivity. In fact, if I took the time to drill down into every potential priority, this breakfast speech would become a lunch speech, too. So I’m going to focus on three key areas.

The first is labour composition, or the skills workers bring to the job. For existing workers, improvement here means having access to training and reskilling programs—whether it’s learning how to use new workplace technologies or gaining skills that can create opportunities to switch to a whole new job. For new entrants to the workforce, we’re counting on colleges, universities and apprenticeship programs to prepare students for current and future jobs.

It's also important to acknowledge that Canada’s workforce is expanding at a record-setting pace, with immigration driving this increase. In January, the working-age population grew by over 125,000 people. That’s the fastest single month of workforce growth on record. In the future, Canada’s productivity—and our standard of living—will depend importantly on how well we leverage and develop the skills of these new workers. Too often, new Canadians are working in jobs that don’t take advantage of the skills they already possess. And too often these people wind up stuck in low-wage, low-productivity jobs. Doing better at matching jobs and workers is crucial to the future of Canada’s economy.

The second key area relates to multifactor productivity. We know that small and medium-sized companies tend to lack the economies of scale that allow larger firms to become more productive. And Canada has proportionally more of these smaller firms than many other economies do. Removing disincentives to growth is always a good idea.

But if I had to pick the biggest concern in this area, I’d say it’s competition. Simply put, businesses become more productive when they’re exposed to competition. Competition drives companies to become more productive by innovating and by finding ways to be more efficient. In doing so, competition can make the whole economy more productive.

Canada’s economy features many sectors where companies face limited levels of competition, whether from firms in other provinces, foreign rivals or new entrants. Of course, every country has certain sectors that it champions, and there can be valid reasons to protect local businesses. However, too much protection can lead to problems. It can also help to explain Canada’s weak record in business investment. This brings me to the third area for improving productivity.

The need for investment

When you compare Canada’s recent productivity record with that of other countries, what really sticks out is how much we lag on investment in machinery, equipment and, importantly, intellectual property. The global economy continues to change rapidly, and in many sectors, it’s not machinery and equipment that are key—it’s investment in intellectual property. Increasingly, companies need to own or have the rights to patents that will allow them to compete by adopting productivity-boosting processes.

Weak investment has been a problem in Canada for a long time. You can go back 50 years and find a persistent gap between the level of capital spending per worker by Canadian firms and the level spent by their US counterparts. However, the situation has become worse over roughly the past decade. While US spending continues to increase, Canadian investment levels are lower than they were a decade ago.

Economists and policy-makers across the country have worked hard to understand the root causes of why Canadian businesses seem reluctant to invest. At the Bank, we are constantly talking to companies, asking them about their challenges and opportunities. Our Business Outlook Survey consistently shows that companies say they plan to increase their spending on machinery and equipment. But we haven’t seen it in the data, at least not yet.

Adding to the puzzle is the fact that Canada has many advantages that should lead to higher investment and productivity. We have a well-educated labour force. We have a strong research culture at our universities that is driving advances in technology. And we have trade agreements that give us better access to global markets than any country in the world.

To understand the lack of investment, it might be helpful to look at the incentives that companies see. If firms have high profits, high margins and limited competition, they may not feel as much pressure to invest. Statistics Canada published a report last month that draws a link between decreasing competition within Canada and declining investment levels. 2

Another challenge for companies may be a lack of policy certainty. In some cases, incentives or regulatory approaches can change from year to year. We have also heard from companies that are naturally wary of a regulatory approval process that can be both lengthy and unpredictable.

And, of course, the past few years have been a challenging time for making investment decisions. The pandemic caused tremendous levels of instability and uncertainty. A backdrop of global trade tensions is certainly not helping matters. More recently, we’ve heard from firms that say the current interest rate environment is making financing more difficult. However, investment levels were also weak in the years before the pandemic, when rates were much lower than today.

More generally, in times of upheaval it’s natural for companies, especially established ones, to want to be cautious and build reserves. I understand that. We see the risks out there. Yet these same forces and risks are also present in other countries. And companies in those countries—our global competitors—continue to invest, widening the gap with Canada, making it increasingly urgent that we turn the situation around.

The Bank of Canada has a role here. It’s our job to deliver the economic stability that should encourage investment. You can be sure we will continue to do all we can to keep inflation low, stable and predictable, supporting the investment climate along the way. This is our contribution to helping bring about an economy that’s not only more productive but also more resilient.

It’s time for me to wrap up. I hope I’ve been clear about the pressing need for Canada to increase productivity. I’m saying that it’s an emergency—it’s time to break the glass. I’ve used some pretty grim statistics to support my point. But the urgency comes not only from the fate that awaits us if we don’t act. It also comes from the payoff if we do. So let me conclude on a more uplifting note.

Higher productivity should be everyone’s goal because it’s how we build a better economy for everyone. When a business gives workers better tools and better training, those workers can produce more. That, in turn, means more revenue for the business, which allows it to absorb rising costs, including higher wages, without having to raise prices.

For our part, central bankers look at the economy as a whole, not at individual companies. And when the entire economy becomes more productive, that means the country can have more growth before we see upward pressure on inflation. We can have more jobs. We can have higher wages.

We’ve all just been through a wrenching period in the global economy. We’ve been reminded how corrosive inflation is and how difficult but necessary the remedy can be. Increasing productivity is a way to protect our economy from future bouts of inflation without having to rely so much on the cure of higher interest rates.

At the Bank of Canada, we will keep working to provide the stability that’s most conducive to risk taking and investment. With governments providing the right policy background, and with the business community doing its part to invest, together we will all be able to help Canada’s economy to grow—and Canadians to prosper—in the years ahead, no matter what surprises may come.

I would like to thank Eric Santor for his help in preparing this speech.

The productivity problem

Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers talks about some of the reasons for Canada’s poor productivity track record, and what we can do to turn the tide.

Speech: Halifax Partnership

The urgent need to improve Canadian productivity  — Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers speaks before the Halifax Partnership. (08:15 (ET) approx.).

• 1. See C. Haun and T. Sargent, “Decomposing Canada’s Post-2000 Productivity Performance and Pandemic-Era Productivity Slowdown,” Centre for the Study of Living Standards, International Productivity Monitor 45 (2023): 5–27.[ ← ]
• 2. See W. Gu, “Investment Slowdown in Canada after the Mid-2000s: The Role of Competition and Intangibles,” Statistics Canada Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper No. 474 (February 2024).[ ← ]

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Solutions: How travel companies can better protect travellers

This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 27, 2023 - December 3, 2023

Ever since Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted in April 2022, Malaysians have been busy packing their bags and jetting away for holidays. According to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), Malaysia’s international passenger traffic grew at an average of 80.9% quarter on quarter and the number of international air traffic rights approved by Mavcom increased by 246% year on year for the first quarter of 2023.

Additionally, statistics collected by GlobalData revealed that international departures from Malaysia increased by a staggering 522% for 2022 and these positive data all point towards the steady revival of the international travel market.

However, since staffing was reduced during the pandemic, airlines in Malaysia are now struggling to keep pace with the travel resurgence. Of all consumer complaints received by Mavcom in the second half of 2022, 99.5% were airline-related, with complaints related to mishandled baggage, online booking and flight cancellation accounting for almost 41% of all cases.

Travel providers can boost traveller confidence with embedded protection

Although many travellers are aware of travel protection, only 24.8% of Malaysians purchase protection for their upcoming trips. This also means that 75.2% of Malaysians are not safeguarding their interests should their travel plans go wrong.

Many travellers think that only international trips ought to be insured, but as domestic tourism expenditure rose to RM59.2 billion in 2022 compared to RM17.5 billion in 2021, travellers should start to consider how to better protect their domestic trips against flight delays, mishandled baggage or even travel curtailments arising from floods as monsoon season approaches.

According to the Embedded Insurance Travel Report conducted by Momentive.ai and commissioned by Cover Genius, 45% of global travellers would prefer to buy protection directly from their travel provider, agent or airline.

While many purchase flights through online travel agencies and directly through airlines, which offer trip protection to travellers when they book, such “off-the-rack” protection packages may not be personalised to travellers’ trips to offer tailored protection befitting one’s circumstances. This presents an opportunity for travel brands to find the right customer-first solutions to close this gap and address pain points.

Offering personalised travel protection

No two trips are the same. For example, a traveller booking a first-class, long-haul flight with checked luggage has very different needs from somebody who has booked a short, domestic flight for a weekend away, and their protection should reflect that.

By partnering with insurtech companies, travel companies can take the guesswork out of protection. To meet the particular needs of each passenger, travel protection can be unbundled into individual components such as medical or baggage coverage — instead of the all-inclusive approach traditional travel protection plans offer — and solutions can be built for any number of situations that can be tailored to any customer’s itinerary or destination.

Travel companies can choose the protection their customers actually need, whether it be airline collapse cover for the wary flyer to protect them against sudden airline closure, emergency medical assistance for an extended stay, personal electronics cover for short-haul business travellers or rental car excess for a weekend road trip.

Simplified policy language

Consumers are often dissatisfied with trip protection because there is little clarity about what’s covered and what’s not. Often, the consumer only discovers this discrepancy during the claims process when a claim is denied because the fine print was too small or hidden in the policy.

To help reduce this frustration, travel companies can work in tandem with insurtech companies to create customer-focused solutions and easy-to-understand policies that allow travellers to book with confidence. Simple and straight-forward language can help prevent travellers from being caught off guard when they make a claim.

Improving claims process by making it frictionless

Traditional insurers often facilitate their claims handling either fully or partially offline, requiring forms to be mailed or faxed, along with flight delay reports and receipts from various parties.

These complicated and convoluted claims processes can take over a week and when they are paid, the consumer then has to drop in a cheque or provide banking details for remittance, which may take another few weeks before finally getting it sorted.

The Embedded Insurance Travel Report found travellers rated their post-claims net promoter score (NPS) at -25, with credit card programmes delivering the poorest outcomes for their customers (-34). Embedded insurtech companies bring a tech-forward approach to claims, with a digital process that provides instant payment for approved claims via a range of payment methods.

An automated and digital claims process allows for quicker management and adjudication, especially during periods of high claims volume. This includes stretches of time where travellers are experiencing higher levels of flight delays and cancellations, bad weather periods or other unforeseen circumstances.

The bottom line

Embedded travel protection is not new and travel companies have been hawking standardised products from legacy insurers for years.

Today’s travellers need tailored protection by insurtech companies that can meet their specific set of needs at the right place and time with a clear presentation of policies that are easy to understand and wrapped up in a digital experience that is in line with other industries.

Travel companies and airlines should look to work with the right insurtech partners to help increase brand confidence and customer loyalty.

Barney Pierce is chief business officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as Asia-Pacific at Cover Genius, the insurtech for embedded protection

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