No plans for UK Covid restrictions on arrivals from China
US said to considering new controls after Beijing announced reopening of borders

The UK government does not have any plans to impose Covid restrictions on arrivals from China despite a surge in cases, Downing Street has said.
The US is said to be looking at new restrictions on Chinese arrivals after Beijing announced it was reopening its borders in January after almost three years of strict controls.
Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea have also responded to the latest Chinese wave of infections by requiring negative virus tests for visitors fromĀ China.
Asked if the British government was considering something similar, the No 10 spokesperson said: āThatās not something weāre looking at.ā
Rishi Sunakās spokesperson added: āWe will continue to monitor cases of Covid across the UK. You will see they are still at a relatively low level, but we will continue to ensure we have the necessary surveillance in place.ā
ChinaĀ has said it will resume issuing visas and passports in a big step away from the controls that isolated the country ā a move which could see millions of citizens going abroad for Januaryās Lunar New Year holiday.
It adds to abrupt changes that are rolling back some of the worldās strictest anti-virus controls as president Xi Jinpingās government tries to reverse an economic slump.
Rules that confined millions of people to their homes keptĀ Chinaās infection rate low, but fuelled public frustration and dampened economic growth.
Authorities have softened its stance on its stringent āzero-Covidā policy by lifting restrictions after unprecedented nationwide protests against the communist government in November.
But some countries are worried about the potential for cases to spread quickly, as travel services companies reported international ticket bookings and searches for visa information spiked after Tuesdayās announcement.
Indiaās health ministry said it was stepping up surveillance of cases from overseas following the recent rise in Covid cases in China.
āThere are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing Covid-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data,ā US officials said in a statement.
However, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for Chinaās foreign ministry, said western nations and media outlets were āhyping upā the issue and ādistortingā the countryās Covid policies.
The National Immigration Administration ofĀ ChinaĀ said it will start taking applications on 8 January for passports for tourists to go abroad. It said it will resume issuing approval for tourists and businesspeople to visit Hong Kong, a territory with its own border controls.
The agency also said the government will āgradually resumeā allowing in foreign visitors and gave no indication when full-scale tourist travel from abroad might be allowed.
Health experts and economists expected the ruling Communist Party to keep restrictions on travel intoĀ ChinaĀ until at least mid-2023 while it carries out a campaign to vaccinate millions of elderly people. Experts say that is necessary to prevent a public health crisis.
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