China announces resumption of visas for Japanese

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo

China announced it was resuming issuing visas for Japanese travelers beginning yesterday, ending its nearly three-week suspension in an apparent protest of Tokyo’s tougher COVID-19 entry requirements for tourists from China.

The decision was announced in a statement posted on the Chinese Embassy’s website.

China stopped issuing new visas in Japan on Jan. 10 in apparent retaliation for Tokyo’s requirement of additional tests for Chinese tourists in late December, ahead of Lunar New Year holidays. Japan cited soaring infections in China after it abruptly eased coronavirus restrictions as well as scarce COVID-19 data from Beijing.

Japan reopened its borders for individual tourists in October, allowing travelers with proof of vaccination instead of testing at airports unless they show symptoms. Burt on Dec. 30, Japan required all travelers from China to show pre-departure negative tests and take an additional test upon arrival.

China also stopped issuing visas to South Koreans after South Korea in early January did the same for short-term travelers from China.

Health authorities in China have said infections have peaked but there are concerns abroad that Beijing was not sharing enough data.

The latest wave of infections in Japan appears to be subsiding in recent weeks, with confirmed daily cases falling to about one-fifth of the peak in early January.

Japan’s government last week announced plans to downgrade COVID-19 to an equivalent of seasonal influenza in May, a move that would further relax mask wearing and other preventive measures as the country seeks to return to normalcy.

South Korea extends restrictions on Chinese

Last Friday, South Korea annouced it will continue to restrict the entry of short-term travelers from China through the end of February over concerns that the spread of COVID-19 in that country may worsen following the Lunar New Year’s holidays.

South Korea in early January stopped issuing most short-term visas at its consulates in China, citing concerns about a virus surge in the country that abruptly eased coronavirus restrictions in December and the potential for new mutations.

South Korea has also required all passengers from China, Hong Kong and Macau to submit proofs of negative tests taken with 48 hours before their arrival and put them through tests again once they arrive.

The steps, which originally were imposed for the month of January, prompted China to retaliate by suspending South Korean short-term visa applications, raising concerns about disrupted business activities in a country that heavily depends on exports to China.

Following a meeting on South Korea’s COVID-19 response on Friday, health authorities decided to extend the coronavirus measures on short-term travelers from China for another month. While there had been some indications COVID-19 outbreaks in major Chinese cities were slowing, South Korean officials remain concerned about a viral resurgence following the massive gatherings and cross-country travel during the Lunar New Year’s holidays that ended this week.

South Korean officials during the meeting left open the possibility of easing the restrictions earlier if it becomes clearer that China’s COVID-19 situation is improving, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in a statement.

When asked about concerns that China may take further retaliatory steps toward South Korea over the extension of the virus measures, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was closely communicating with Beijing and maintaining that all pandemic responses should be based “only on anti-virus reasons.”

According to South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency, around 10% of the 6,900 short-term travelers from China who arrived in the country from Jan. 2 to Thursday tested positive after being tested at the airport.

While allowing the extension of existing visas, South Korea has stopped issuing most short-term visas as its consulates in China, except for essential government, diplomatic and business activities and humanitarian reasons. MDT/AP