Rapid Transit Corridor Expanding from Beijing Sky Route to ASEAN

Fast Track Lanes Introduced Successively in China, UAE, Indonesia, Singapore, etc.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Continues Consultations with Country-Specific Teams

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Although the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) shows little sign of subsiding, persistent intergovernmental consultations are gradually but steadily lowering the entry barriers for essential personnel such as businesspeople. In particular, the 'Fast Track' system, which simplifies entry procedures for essential personnel, is expanding to ASEAN countries, and China, which introduced it first, has for the first time allowed three Hyundai Motor Company charter flights to operate at Beijing Airport.

On the 3rd, Hyundai Motor Group, with approval from the Chinese government, will deploy three charter flights over two days from the 3rd to the 4th, transporting 600 Hyundai Motor employees and their families, as well as employees of partner companies, to Beijing Capital International Airport. Although the Korea-China Fast Track system was introduced in May, travelers had to pass through cities near Beijing to reach Beijing itself. The recent approval by the Chinese government for Hyundai’s charter flights to Beijing is understood to be a follow-up measure to strengthen Korea-China exchanges following the visit of Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China responsible for foreign affairs, to Korea.

Following additional easing measures on entry restrictions for Korean businesspeople by China, the government’s actively promoted Fast Track system is also expanding to ASEAN countries. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) began implementing the Fast Track system for Korean businesspeople from early last month, and Indonesia started operating the system from the 17th of last month after ministerial talks between the two countries. The introduction of the Fast Track system in Indonesia is highly significant as it is the first case institutionalizing special entry for Korean businesspeople among the New Southern Policy countries.

Starting this month, Singapore will apply the Fast Track system to essential personnel such as businesspeople and government officials from the 4th. Until recently, Singapore required a 14-day quarantine at designated facilities for those entering via Korea. If a negative test result is obtained locally, business activities can proceed without additional quarantine. Besides Korean nationals, permanent residents or long-term visa holders residing in Korea can also use the system if they have a Singapore entry visa.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "Both Korea and Singapore are open economies with high external dependence," adding, "This agreement with Singapore, a logistics and financial hub, will contribute not only to economic recovery amid the COVID-19 situation but also to the stable maintenance of global supply chains."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formed teams by country to continue consultations with the remaining ASEAN countries. The trade volume with ASEAN countries is the second largest after China, reaching 160 billion dollars. Although intergovernmental consultations vary depending on each country’s COVID-19 situation, significant progress is reported.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that over 18,000 essential personnel including businesspeople have entered as exceptions through intergovernmental consultations in 18 countries so far. The number of countries banning entry from Korea has decreased by half from 153 countries in May to 88 countries currently. On the other hand, the number of countries with the lowest level of measures, such as strengthened quarantine and advisory measures, has increased to 71 countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.