Hong Kong Border May Open in January, Chinese Official Says

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s border with mainland China could reopen with limited capacity in January, according to a Chinese official in the city, a breakthrough that would be a boost to the Asian financial hub’s economy.

Authorities are seeking to resume some quarantine-free cross-border travel for those entering neighboring Guangdong province before the Lunar New Year begins, the Chinese official said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. 

The governments had been working toward a date after the Beijing Winter Olympics, which end on Feb. 20, the official added, without explaining why the target date had moved.

When asked for comment, the Hong Kong government referred to a Nov. 4 statement saying the city was strengthening epidemic controls to foster “favorable conditions” for reopening the border in a “gradual and orderly manner,” without giving a time frame. The Liaison Office, the central government’s top body located in the former British colony, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a regular press briefing Tuesday that officials will “soon” meet with mainland authorities for a second time to discuss reopening the border. “We are making good progress,” Lam said. “The central government and the Hong Kong SAR fully understand that the top priority in Hong Kong is to gradually resume cross-border travel.”

Hong Kong has been trying for months to restart travel across the border, imposing hotel quarantines as long as 21 days for incoming vaccinated residents to meet China’s “Covid Zero” requirements. The European Chamber of Commerce has warned that approach threatens the city’s status as an international finance hub.

Speculation over when quarantine-free travel will resume has been rife. Last week, Michael Tien, a pro-government politician in the city’s Legislative Council and a Hong Kong deputy to China’s National People’s Congress, said it could be as soon as the end of the year or in the first quarter of 2022. The South China Morning Post newspaper reported on Monday that the borders would be fully open by June 2022 “at the latest,” with a phased process beginning in mid-December, citing official sources. 

Sticking points in discussions have been whether Hong Kong would be required to adopt a mainland-style health code app with a tracking component, according to local media citing unidentified sources. Lam said Tuesday officials still needed to decide how many virus cases would trigger a so-called circuit breaker that would suspend travel. 

When the border opens, travel may initially be capped at 1,000 people per day, local news outlet HK01 reported earlier this week, citing unidentified sources.  

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