China to reopen border Jan. 8, requiring only negative COVID test

China will reopen its border to international travelers on Jan. 8, after the country made an abrupt U-turn on its COVID-19 containment policies earlier this month. The National Health Commission announced the decision late on Monday. Inbound passengers will only be required to present a negative test result obtained within 48 hours of boarding. As long as their health declarations are normal and they show no signs of illness in a "routine checkup" while clearing customs, they will not be subject to any special restrictions while in the country. The NHC said mass PCR testing upon arrival and centralized quarantine will be scrapped. So too will restrictions on international flights, such as the "Five-One" policy -- a rule under which a single country can only send one flight from one airline via one route once per week. In-flight masks will still be required. China will gradually reopen its water and land ports, too, the NHC said. And restrictions on outbound travel will be eased: The NHC said citizens will be allowed to go abroad "in an orderly manner." In the past three years, China has imposed a de facto ban on citizens traveling abroad for "nonessential" reasons, while refusing to replace expired passports. The shift could have a major impact on an international travel market that has been missing Chinese tourists and their cash. The border policy changes come after a rush of easing of domestic restrictions, following widespread protests against harsh "zero-COVID" lockdown measures. Beijing has swung from one extreme to the other -- from a situation where a single close contact could lead to a residential block being sealed off, to no longer controlling the movement of infected people.<br/>