Your current location:HOME >style >China Focus: China strives for vitality after COVID management downgrade 正文
TIME:2024-05-08 00:10:45 Source: Internet compilationEdit:style
Inbound passengers arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai, Jan. 8,
Inbound passengers arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai, Jan. 8, 2023. From Sunday, China starts managing COVID-19 with measures designed for combating Class B infectious diseases, instead of Class A infectious diseases. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- At around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, flight NZ289 from New Zealand landed at the Pudong International Airport. It was the first international inbound flight to arrive in Shanghai after China downgraded its management of COVID-19, meaning those on board would not be subject to quarantine.
Shaly Rauss, a German passenger on the flight who lives in Shanghai, went to New Zealand for a holiday three weeks ago. "I felt so lucky. We booked tickets one year ago. I did not know then that this would happen. We were expecting quarantine but now we don't have to quarantine. I feel very happy," she said.
China now manages COVID-19 with measures against Class B infectious diseases, instead of Class A infectious diseases, in a major shift of its epidemic response policy.
This downgrade in management policy will facilitate the smooth and orderly cross-border travel of Chinese and foreign nationals, enhance international exchanges and cooperation, and also help boost the global economy.
On Jan. 9, Shandong Airlines will fly its first inbound flight under the new measures, from Seoul to Jinan, Shandong Province.
"This shift brings convenience for cross-border travel. We are now fully promoting the resumption and opening of international and regional routes," said Wu Wanyuan, director of the media center of Shandong Airlines.
According to a recent survey conducted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, 91 percent of foreign enterprises and business associations surveyed strongly supported China's optimization of epidemic policies, while 99.4 percent of the foreign companies surveyed were bullish about the prospects of China's economic development in 2023.
"China's adjustment and optimization of epidemic prevention measures and orderly resumption of international flights provide favorable conditions for the recovery of the international air transport market," said a spokesperson for the China Air Transport Association.
China's relevant air transport enterprises are making careful preparations to increase international capacity in an orderly manner, actively and steadily promote the resumption of operation of international passenger flights, and meet the needs of international personnel exchanges and economic and trade cooperation, the spokesperson added.
The country is also witnessing a tourism recovery. According to the latest data from China's online travel service provider Tuniu, inter-provincial travel is expected to return to its dominant role in tourism consumption during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday this year, with inter-provincial travel orders accounting for nearly 70 percent of the total.
Sun Qian, a tourist from Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, is on vacation with her daughter in Sanya, a resort city in Hainan Province.
"There are obviously a lot more visitors in Sanya than in the previous two years, and people are having a great time and are feeling safe here," she said.
A report from Trip.com Group showed a 45 percent year-on-year increase in travel product bookings for the Spring Festival holiday period and a 53 percent increase in per capita travel spending as of Thursday.
"With the new measure officially implemented, we are full of confidence in a tourism recovery," said Zhang Lei, deputy general manager of a tourism service company in the city of Qufu, Shandong Province. ■
New Liberia forest boss plans to increase exports, denies working with war criminal Charles Taylor2024-05-08 00:08
UN refugee agency tells Cyprus to stick to the law in its efforts at sea to thwart refugee boats2024-05-07 23:41
Taylor Swift RELEASES The Tortured Poets Department! Grammy2024-05-07 23:30
Tesla recalling nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks because accelerator pedal can get stuck2024-05-07 23:27
Georgia court candidate sues to block ethics rules so he can keep campaigning on abortion2024-05-07 22:37
Pennsylvania board's cancellation of gay actor's school visit ill2024-05-07 22:35
Revealed: Why you should always take your own sandwiches to the airport2024-05-07 22:27
Would you like a cicada salad? The monstrous little noisemakers descend on a New Orleans menu2024-05-07 22:03
Liz Hurley's nephew2024-05-07 21:57
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week2024-05-07 21:47
Lawsuit alleges decades of child sex abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers statewide2024-05-07 23:37
Jury selection for Trump's hush money trial could near a close2024-05-07 23:14
Has Salman Rushdie changed after his stabbing? Well, he feels about 25, the author tells AP2024-05-07 23:01
2 suspects detained in Poland for attack on a Navalny ally in Lithuania2024-05-07 22:52
Nigerian journalist's arrest last week triggers criticism of worsening press freedoms2024-05-07 22:25
Hackers claim Belarus fertilizer plant infiltrated to demand political prisoner release2024-05-07 22:25
Cycling star Evenepoel targets June return from crash ahead of Tour de France and Paris Olympics2024-05-07 22:06
Thai leaders ready to increase humanitarian aid in Myanmar — Radio Free Asia2024-05-07 21:51
After Barstool Sports sponsorship fizzles, Snoop Dogg brand is attached to Arizona Bowl, fo shizzle2024-05-07 21:44
Bitcoin halving: Everything you need to know2024-05-07 21:33