China decides to ease travel restrictions for foreigners arriving from Pakistan, India, and United States provided the travelers have taken a Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine.
China closed its borders last year in March to contain the spread of coronavirus which stranded many foreigners with jobs and family inside China overseas.
However, Chinese embassies in several countries have issued notices saying the country will open visa applications to people who have taken China-made jabs.
The embassy in the US issued a notice on Monday saying that it would begin to process “visa applicants inoculated with Chinese Covid-19 vaccines”.
The condition will be applicable in the running week to those visiting the Chinese mainland for work resumption, business travel, or for “humanitarian needs”, such as reuniting with family members.
The embassy statement said this applied to those who had either had two doses of the vaccine or a single-dose at least 14 days before applying for the visa.
China’s vaccines have been rolled out in several countries around the world, including Turkey, Indonesia and Cambodia.
Beijing is driving forward its inoculation drive for its huge domestic population with four domestically produced vaccines approved so far. But it has yet to approve any foreign-made jabs.
