China drops Covid PCR test rule for inbound travelers

China said on Tuesday that it would no longer require travelers entering the country to show a negative P.C.R. test for the coronavirus, another step toward reopening after a long period of pandemic-era isolation. But it was not clear whether testing requirements would be abolished altogether. A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said only that, beginning on Saturday, people going to China “can” take an antigen test to “replace” the previously mandated PCR test within 48 hours before boarding their flight. Airlines will not check test results before boarding, the spokeswoman, Mao Ning, added at a regularly scheduled news briefing. She did not say whether others, such as immigration officials, would check. Notices by Chinese embassies overseas said that travelers arriving in China would still need to fill out a health declaration form, and that customs officials would conduct unspecified spot checks. For three years, China imposed the world’s strictest coronavirus restrictions, requiring lockdowns and regular mass testing in the name of “zero Covid.” Then the government abruptly abandoned those rules in December as the economy sagged, the virus spread widely and protests broke out across the country. Beijing has since declared that it is open to the world, and tried to woo foreign businesspeople and diplomats. In practice, the reopening has been slowed, in part, by geopolitical tensions. Tourist visas were not reinstated until last month. International flights remain prohibitively expensive for many, often costing thousands of dollars. The United States and China have not yet lifted tit-for-tat caps that they imposed on routes between their two countries during the pandemic.<br/>as for Chinese travelers.)<br/>