March 13 (Portal) – China will start reissuing various categories of visas for foreigners from March 15, the Chinese embassy in the United States said Monday as the country continues to open its borders after three years of COVID-19 containment measures.
In a statement, the embassy said China will also lift visa restrictions for various locations, including Hainan Island and cruise ships passing through the port of Shanghai.
Visa-free entry to Guangdong for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau will also resume, the embassy said.
China, which dismantled its zero-COVID-19 policy in December and opened its borders a month later, has seen a sharp rise in travel over the past two months.
The country’s leaders had signaled victory over a recent wave of COVID-19 that swept the country for months.
New premier Li Qiang said Monday it took China less than two months to achieve a “smooth transition” in its response to COVID-19 and that the country’s policies and measures have been entirely correct.
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Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru and Bernard Orr in Beijing; Edited by Leslie Adler and Christopher Cushing
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