China, South Korea Ease Border Controls for Business Travel
China Eases Border Controls for Business Travel With South Korea
(Bloomberg) -- China and South Korea agreed to ease quarantine requirements for some business travelers, Beijing’s first such move to revive essential economic activities disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The so-called “fast-track” entry, which takes effect Friday, will simplify entry procedures for business travelers between the two countries, according to a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. South Korean business staff will be able to travel to 10 Chinese regions, including Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, after going through “minimized” health screening and quarantine measures, it said.
The South Korean arrangement is China’s first such formal two-way agreement, according to the statement, and comes as Beijing presses other countries for similar reciprocity as the number of coronavirus cases has dwindled in some parts of the world. Beijing will soon establish a fast-track system for foreign visitors with urgent purposes, the European Union Chamber of Commerce said.
President Xi Jinping’s government has been strengthening controls against most foreign visitors as the virus spreads around the world. While South Korean President Moon Jae-in had been criticized for relatively lax curbs on Chinese visitors, successful efforts to control outbreaks by both countries have reduced the political risk of loosening such measures.
Under the new system, South Korean business travelers will need to receive an invitation from a China-based company to visit the country, screen their own health for two weeks and get tested for the virus 72 hours before departure, South Korea’s foreign ministry said. Once travelers enter China, they need be quarantined for up to two days and pass another test before they can proceed with their trips.
A similar procedure will be required for Chinese business travelers visiting South Korea, the ministry said.
The “fast-track channel” will be available to people in business, logistics, industrial production and technical service, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on its website. Relevant people from both countries can apply for visas, and can enter the other country after going through health and virus tests.
“They will be able to start normal activities under the principle of ‘closed-loop management,’” the ministry said.
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