China ends three years of covid restrictions that isolated the financial hub from the Chinese mainland.
Hong Kong residents travelling to the mainland will no longer have to quarantine or undergo a covid test after they arrive. China will also resume issuing travel and business visas for mainland residents to travel to Hong Kong. The changes are part of a move to resume cross-border travel in a “gradual and orderly” way.
More than 236 million trips a year were made across the border before the pandemic, according to government data. The moves come after Beijing said it would reopen its international borders and scrap mandatory quarantine starting January 8th.
It’s the latest step by China to unwind its controversial “Zero COVID” policy.