CHINA EASES ENTRY FOR FOREIGNERS WHO GET CHINESE VACCINE

Tue 16 March 2021:

China will exempt foreigners applying for visas to enter the country via Hong Kong who have received a Chinese vaccine from providing health certification, the state-owned CGTN news channel reported Monday.

Those who are administered non-Chinese vaccine doses will be required to produce negative nucleic acid tests and a health and travel declaration form, CGTN said.

The country has been closed to most foreigners since last March to stem the spread of coronavirus which it has largely brought under control at home, stranding many foreigners with jobs and family inside China overseas.

But Chinese embassies in several countries have issued notices saying the country will open visa applications to select people who have taken a China-made jab.

The Chinese Embassy in the US said in a statement dated Monday that it would begin to process “visa applicants inoculated with Chinese Covid-19 vaccines”.

This would apply from this week to those visiting the Chinese mainland for work resumption, business travel, or for “humanitarian needs”, such as reuniting with family members.

Beijing is driving forward its inoculation plan for its vast domestic population with four domestically produced vaccines approved so far. But it has yet to approve any foreign-made jabs.

Meanwhile, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said Monday that close to 65 million people have been administered vaccines since January last year.

“As of March 14, 64.98 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in China,” said Li Bin, the deputy head of the NHC, addressing a live-streamed news conference in Beijing.

The health official added that China is studying various measures taken by different countries regarding international travel for inoculated groups and is considering further policy adjustments.

China has reported at least 90,049 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including 4,636 deaths since the first such cases were detected in Wuhan city in December 2019. Five new cases were reported Monday, all of whom were imported.

Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry said that Beijing has donated or is donating COVID-19 vaccines to 69 developing countries in urgent need and is exporting vaccines to 43 countries.

It added that at least 60 countries have authorized the use of Chinese vaccines.