China will be fully open to international travelers from January 2023, as the country will be ending its quarantine policies just shortly before the beginning of the Lunar New Year celebrations.
The new rules will go into effect on January 8, 2023, essentially opening up the country to foreign visitors and returning nationals.
China has been moving away from its strict zero-COVID policies over the course of the past few months, following protests and unrest in many cities across the country.
The decision to end quarantine requirements for international travelers comes following a previous choice to ease the requirements in late November 2022. Then, the local government shortened the quarantine period by two days from seven, as well as requiring a single COVID-19 test prior to arrival instead of two, among other measures in a policy called the dynamic zero-COVID.
Despite the decision to end the quarantine upon arrival in China, international travelers will still have to get a negative PCR test 48 hours before departure.
Changes will also affect the local aviation market. Domestic passengers will no longer have to get their temperature checked to enter an airport. Additionally, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), began working on a plan to gradually resume full flight services within the country, still limiting airlines to no more than 9,280 domestic flights per day until at least January 6, 2023. The CAAC aims to return to 70% of 2019 levels first in order for the airlines to retrain their staff before adding more capacity, according to the China Daily, a government-associated newspaper.