In recent weeks, Hong Kong has registered dozens of Delta-variant infections among travelers in its quarantine hotels, even as the city has not registered its own COVID-19 outbreak in months. Meanwhile, mainland China has yet to approve any foreign vaccines, including the most effective ones that use mRNA gene technology. At that time, Chinas top respiratory expert, Zhong Nanshan, revealed that the number inoculated was 3.56%, a proportion set to rise to 40% by the end of June. There are a few reasons why Hong Kong has made this decision, said Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor at the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Beyond that, specific details have not yet been spelled out. Though not a scientific survey, the results nevertheless suggest a significant shift in attitudes among a group of prominent figures in the China field, most of whom would almost certainly have planned to travel to the country a year or two ago as part of their professional routines, it said. Today (Saturday, 5 June 2021) the borders of China are fully open for 0/ 32 countries, partially open for 51/ 32 countries. The Hong Kong government needs to get more people vaccinated, and then also be looking at booster shots before they can really start to relax their guard, he says. Regional lockdowns have been imposed every time there are new outbreaks of the virus. State media describe foreigners, notably Americans, as too selfish, science-scorning and obsessed with individual rights to control the virus. Last month, the border cracked open somewhat but only one way, allowing some Chinese residents to enter Hong Kong without quarantine, not vice versa. But there are also political considerations. On Sunday, a member of the Executive Council told local media the city might not be able to open its China border until February. At the time of writing, eight positive cases have been detected, including other port workers and their family members, none of whom have so much as run a fever. Britain said on Tuesday it would permanently, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China. September 26 - China to reopen border regions to foreign visitors The Chinese government issued draft regulations on Monday, September 19, aiming for increasing tourism along its borders and making it simpler for some foreigners to enter China. Surveys by the American and European chambers of commerce suggested the number of foreign residents in China had fallen by 30% in 18 months. "China used to be a place that was exciting and wild. But if it continues on its current path, theres no telling when China will feel confident enough to reopen the border, or what criteria Hong Kong needs to meet leaving the city at the whim of the central government, simply waiting to be allowed in. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at Hong Kong University, says he suspects that Hong Kong citizens and residents may be split between a COVID-zero approach and opening up only with the mainland and a living with COVID approach and aiming toward quarantine-free travel with the rest of the world. Here, Zhuang Pinghui and Simone McCarthy look into what it . Xi's China is closing to the world. All our stories relating to the pandemic and the vaccines can be found on our coronavirus hub. See how we collect data and find out why not all countries are included in the statistics. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam at the Legislative Council on October 6. However, the Omicron variant has proven challenging, and the government is still pursuing a zero Covid strategy. Why are we still employing strict measures to prevent and control the disease? Zhong asked in an interview with Southern Weekly, a newspaper based in Guangzhou. The vaccination campaign . Visits by political leaders from abroad have largely ceased. Chang Shu +Follow. Unlike smaller economies that rely heavily on cross-border capital flows, outside talent or international tourism, Covid-19border restrictions have not stopped China from roaring back into growth. But any further opening provokes nervousness. In the last year, I have hiked in five provinces, organised a week-long in-person meeting in a tropical botanical garden involving scientists from 20 academic institutions, and attended scores of live music and dance events, featuring maskless musicians playing to packed, maskless crowds. Most people in China would happily stay in this parallel universe for another five years. Nationalism and impatience with foreign criticism were on the rise before covid-19. Zhang works as director of infectious diseases atHuashan Hospital, which is affiliated with Fudan University. Authorities acted swiftly. For the newly qualified entrants . This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. This story has been updated to include Hong Kongs new quarantine rules formally announced late Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of international students enrolled in Chinese universities have been barred from returning to the country, with many voicing frustrations on Twitter and tagging Chinese diplomats for help to no avail. But Chinese officials and state media have also pushed the narrative that it is a further vindication of Beijings rise and the Wests decline. The record breaking rains, and similar flooding incidents happening in other parts of the country, have alarmed scientists and officials raising questions as to whether China is prepared to deal with more extreme weather as the climate crisis deepens. appreciated. Many developing countries have relied heavily on Chinese shots. Today (Saturday, 5 June 2021) the borders of China are fully open for 0/ 32 countries, partially open for 51/ 32 countries. public health experts and local politicians. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. The city is now effectively stuck in limbo, backed into a corner by its own policies with no easy path out. Amazon Is Closing Its Cashierless Stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle, Amazon Pauses Construction on Second Headquarters in Virginia as It Cuts Jobs, Stock Traders Are Ignoring Blaring Bond Alarms, iPhone Maker Plans $700 Million India Plant in Shift From China, Russia Is Getting Around Sanctions to Secure Supply of Key Chips for War. A single case can lead to city-wide testing and lockdown. Travelers walk through Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, on Saturday, May 1, 2021. All rights reserved. As a result, opening up could pose challenges to hospitals, especially in rural areas. How can the idea of a return to a normal state of affairs be articulated and realised by a state? Footage broadcast by state news agency Xinhua and shared widely online shows passengers in Zhengzhou trapped inside a flooded subway car, packed tightly together as the water climbs higher. In Chinas publishing business, you have to duck and dive, How nationalism is making life harder for gay people in China, China is keeping its borders closed, and turning inward, California: Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Chinas prime minister, Li Keqiang, is about to retire, Chinese arms could revive Russias failing war, How to prevent sycophancy in Chinas civil service. Moodys and Fitch also both downgraded Evergrandes credit rating in June, citing its worsening financial conditions. See how we collect data and find out why not all countries are included in the statistics. appreciated. China is facing a dilemma: how to reopen its borders to foreign visitors - as some other nations are considering doing - while stepping up its. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. Like elsewhere, the pandemic has changed China in many ways some of which might add to the concerns of foreigners who plan to visit. People feel that they made hard sacrifices in 2020 in order to defeat Covid, and see no reason to be exposed to risks again. Let them study online, Chinese officials tell diplomats who mention their plight. Would-be travelers must be careful as flights can be canceled at the last minute. Given the sheer size of the company and the fact that its huge debt is widely held in China by banks and retail investors a default by Evergrande could pose significant risks to Chinas financial system. Is crazy to think he has a whole other side of the family he hasn't even met yet.". Its just numbers, he said. About 90% of the adult population is fully vaccinated. Those foreign airlines allowed to operate limited flights into China are often running at 10% of pre-pandemic capacity. This opacity is a problem. Finally, though open discussion of this question is taboo, the authorities are being oddly secretive about how well Chinese-made vaccines work. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Their resentment is both sincere and stoked by propaganda that accuses American leaders of slandering China to cover up their cruel incompetence and 600,000 pandemic deaths. Hong Kong may prove to be a bellwether. 2:39 AM EDT, Wed July 21, 2021. At least 12 people have been confirmed dead in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, where more than 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) of rain fell in one hour on Tuesday, according to the meteorological observatory. . But Zhong acknowledged that Chinas strict COVID rules impose a burden on the government and that the costs of maintaining the measures may eventually outweigh the health benefits. But this approach has sowed growing discontent among the public, particularly foreign nationals, who make up nearly 10% of the citys 7.5 million population. This makes it hard for the party to reopen borders. On Sunday, a member of the Executive Council told local media the city might not be able to open its China border until February. Even so, these vaccines still prevent severe cases of covid-19 which, in theory, reduces pressure on the health-care system. Those with a head for heights should make an appointment with the horizontal skyscraper. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. will accept travelers who have been fully vaccinated with any of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, not just those in use in the U.S. That means that the AstraZeneca vaccine, widely used in Canada, will be accepted. It is true that China can afford to be in no . Terms & Conditions. Images of mask-less Westerners on crowded beaches or rampaging at anti-lockdown protests are a staple of Chinese news coverage. But few data have been released about how Chinese vaccines cope with variants, or how long they work. More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the U.K. and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status. Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. Hong Kong people need to go to the mainland, said the citys leader, Carrie Lam, at a news conference on Tuesday. These travelers will be permitted to visit specific sites as part of group tours, not on individual itineraries. The government has also struggled to increase vaccine uptake among older people, meaning a huge proportion of our population will be exposed to the problems associated with Delta the moment we open up internationally, Thomas said. The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic. Mutual distrust will be hard to overcome until China re-opens. Starting Monday, the U.S. is accepting fully vaccinated travelers at airports and land borders, doing away with a COVID-19 restriction that dates back to the Trump administration. Headhunters are struggling to attract new talent to Hong Kong, with people looking instead to places with more relaxed rules. Only 36% of people over the age of 60 have gotten one dose, according to government data, which means that a Delta outbreak could prove deadly in Hong Kong. This week, it further clarified that the change although not yet legislated has already been effective since the announcement, amid confusion over its implementation. The fired Google engineer who thought its A.I. All Rights Reserved. The answers to these questions depends what country you are talking about. Though a few of the countrys top scientists have cautiously questioned how long Chinas zero-covid policies may last, there are no signs the government is moving away from its position. This was followed by the citys Tuesday announcement that the vast majority of vaccinated residents returning to the city from the rest of the world should serve 14-day hotel quarantines before entering the city. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. List of countries for which the borders with Estonia are partially or completely open: CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. But even the largest such businesses struggle to obtain visas for the families of their expatriate staff. Heavy flooding and record rains devastated parts of Henan province on Tuesday, leaving terrified subway passengers clinging to ceiling handles inside flooded cars, trapped up to their necks in rising water. In order to open its borders, China will first have to vaccinate its population. People queue to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in Guangzhou in Guangdong province, China. Chan . For many, the continued detention of the two Canadian Michaels will likely serve as a chilling reminder of the risks associated with visiting China, even after it reopens its borders to the world. vaccination programme. If Hong Kong reopens to international travel, it almost certainly will see a spike in infections and lose all chance of reopening with China. Hong Kong doesnt have any real power to decide upon, he added. The bottom line is that businesses should be aware that the risks faced in mainland China are now increasingly present in Hong Kong, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. But one city, arguably Asias biggest financial center, is absent from the list: Hong Kong. 2021. The downgrade reflects Evergrandes weakened funding access and reduced liquidity buffer given its large debt maturities in the coming 12-18 months amid the tight credit environment in China and volatility in the capital markets, Cedric Lai, a vice president and senior analyst at Moodys, said in a statement at the time. Still, Zhong said China will not automatically reopen its borders upon reaching the 80%85% vaccination threshold, since case rates in other countries will also weigh on its plans. See how we collect data and find out why not all countries are included in the statistics. China has maintained a strict zero-Covid approach, even as many other countries transition to living with the coronavirus. Moreover, China is in a better position than most countries to stay closed: its exports have barely been affected, and foreign direct investment is higher than it was before the pandemic. 27/12/2022. White House has confirmed the reopening date for international tourism, current travel curbs will be lifted on November 8. Theyre willing to give up leisure travel for public health., But pandemic fatigue has long set in, and theres no telling when the governments bet on China will pay off. Im most concerned that we may end up with neither of these in the next 12 months, Cowling says. But Chinas continued reliance on COVID-zero protocols despite its high vaccination rate has raised questions about whether the measures will be a fixture of Chinese life for the long term. According to the World Health Organization, more than 40 countries have started vaccinating. On June 3, many neighborhoods in Shanghai reopened after a nearly two-month lockdown, only to shut some of them back down again just one day later when some positive cases were detected. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Equally, China may want to buy time for a locally made mRNA vaccine that is known to be in development. Now more than ever, players rightly see themselves as multi-faceted entrepreneurs, and seek ways to leverage their brands in everything from real estate to venture capital. Jul 17th 2021 I T IS BECOMING clear that China will not, or perhaps cannot, re-open its borders soon. Arrivals are screened once more at the airport. Hong Kongs strict new quarantine rules will effectively close the city off from international travel for the foreseeable future at the same time that other major financial centers like New York, London, and Singapore have been pursuing reopening plans even amid the rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant. The party has several important events it does not want disrupted by covid-19 outbreaks. 0. Will His AI Plans Be Any Different? China cannot carry on like this because COVID-19 is a global disease that requires China and the rest of the world to work together and beat it, he said. This week, Zhang Wenhong, one of Chinas most prominent infectious disease experts, is battling a plagiarism allegation that could tar his professional reputation after he was criticized online and by state media outlets for suggesting that China should deviate from its COVID-zero approach and learn to live with the virus. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much All rights reserved. Discovery Company. Chinese officials are looking with considerable interest at how herd immunity works in highly vaccinated countries with different combinations of vaccines, such as in Israel and Seychelles. But no foreign vaccines have been approved and its home-grown ones, including Sinopharm and Sinovac, are not very effective against Delta. CNNs Julia Buckley and Lilit Marcus contributed to this report. https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-keep-covid-19-border-restrictions-for-another-year-11624361777. cost of Internet censorship in China (Jamestown, 12 January 2021). There have been numerous outbreaks of Covid-19 since last spring, varying in size from single cases to hundreds, but all of them have been ended swiftly, with modest, generally localised disruption. For air travelers, the airlines are required to verify vaccine records and match them against ID, and if they don't, they could face fines of up to nearly $35,000 per violation. The case, in addition to a surge in Delta-driven waves of infections worldwide, prompted Hong Kong public health experts and local politicians over the weekend to call for Hong Kong to increase quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers. Rick Bowmer/AP I did not imagine that this longer wait would extend until the summer of 2021. This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Turning inward", Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents, Under Xi Jinping, he has had little chance to shine, But Chinas leaders are treading carefully for now, The countrys government is organised in a way that could help, Published since September 1843 to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.. Among those who replied they would probably or definitely not visit, reasons ranged from previous visa rejections to outright fear of detention for themselves and for the Chinese people they work with or interview, and concerns that restrictions on movement, research, or reporting would compromise the professional value of spending time in China, said ChinaFile, which is published by the Asia Societys Center on US-China Relations.
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