U.S. to require negative COVID test upon arrival for Chinese travelers

(ECNS) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Wednesday that it will require a negative COVID-19 test for air passengers from China.

According to the CDC, starting at 12:01 AM ET on Jan. 5, all air passengers two years and older will be required to get a negative result from a COVID-19 test no more than two days before departure from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong or Macao special administrative regions.

Passengers who test positive more than 10 days before a flight can provide documentation of recovery with the negative test result, the CDC said.

Passengers transiting Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport on their way to the U.S. will also be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result if they have been in China during the last 10 days, the CDC said.

"The current COVID situation in the world continues to call for a science-based response approach and joint effort to ensure safe cross-border travel, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and restore world economic growth," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday in response to the U.S. move of considering COVID entry restrictions for travelers from China.

"We’ve always believed that for all countries, COVID response measures need to be science-based and proportionate without affecting normal people-to-people exchange," Wang said.

Many countries welcome Chinese tourists through official Weibo accounts in Chinese after China’s National Health Commission on Monday announced plans to remove mandatory quarantine for travelers arriving from overseas from Jan.8, 2023.

"Chinese friends, France welcomes you with open arms," said the French Embassy in China on Weibo.

"It has been three years! Marvelous Thailand has been waiting for you for three years," the Tourism Authority of Thailand post on Weibo in Chinese.

"Let Denmark continue to create the most romantic and lovely fairy tale dream for you. Waiting for you," said the Tourism Authority of Denmark.

"Next Summer, we're here in Canada waiting for you," the Tourism Authority of Canada added.

Australia, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, and other countries have also posted pictures and introductions of local tourist sites on Weibo to invite Chinese tourists.

"We have also noted that quite a few countries have spoken positively about China’s provisional measures on cross-border travel and that they hope such travel will further pick up with greater ease," the spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Still, as the Chinese government is easing COVID restrictions, some governments began to implement extra travel requirements for Chinese visitors.

Indian health authorities announced on Saturday that passengers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Thailand would be subjected to a mandatory PCR test on arrival in the country, and the passengers showing symptoms indicative of the virus or testing positive will be quarantined.

Japan will require a negative COVID test for travelers from mainland China, with those testing positive in Japan having to undergo a week in quarantine. Italy will also impose mandatory tests.