The Chinese government has resumed issuing visas for Japanese nationals 19 days after it suspended issuance of visas to Chinese citizens from Japan and South Korea in retaliation for tightened quarantine measures for entrants from China. The Chinese embassy in Japan announced on the 29th that it would resume reviewing and issuing general visas for Japanese nationals entering China.
After China abolished its zero-corona policy last month, the Japanese government made it mandatory for travelers arriving from China to submit a COVID-19 test and negative certificate. However, no measures were taken to restrict the issuance of visas for Chinese nationals. South Korea has made it compulsory for entrants arriving from China to undergo PCR testing before and after entry, and has also stopped issuing short-term visas.
In response, the Chinese government suspended the issuance of short-term visas for Korean nationals and general visas for Japanese nationals on the 10th, and on the 11th, the visa exemption policy for Korean and Japanese nationals passing through China for 72 or 144 hours was also suspended. .
China is expected to maintain its restrictions on South Korea. Regarding the measures taken against South Korea, the Chinese embassy in Korea said, “As far as I know, there are no changes yet.”
This can be attributed to China’s ‘reciprocity’ viewpoint. Japan has not stopped issuing visas to Chinese nationals, even though it has made inspections mandatory for entrants from China. On the other hand, South Korea stopped issuing short-term visas for Chinese from the 2nd, and on the 27th, it extended the restriction on short-term visa issuance, which was scheduled until the end of this month, until the end of next month.