China Likely to Impose Travel Restrictions During Next Year's Lunar New Year Holiday

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[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China is expected to issue a travel restraint order during next year's Lunar New Year holiday period (January 31 to February 6).

Since the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony (February 4) overlaps partially with the Lunar New Year holiday period and sporadic COVID-19 resurgences continue, there is a high possibility that travel will be restricted as much as possible. The Chinese government also imposed travel restrictions during the Lunar New Year period last February.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Chinese media including Xinhua News Agency on the 13th, the authorities of the Zhangjiakou Economic Development Zone in Hebei Province have restricted employees of party and government agencies, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises from traveling to other regions during the Lunar New Year holiday period.

The Zhangjiakou authorities stated that government and state-owned enterprise employees must set an example, effectively banning travel to other regions during the New Year and Lunar New Year holidays. Zhangjiakou, which borders the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and is the venue for the Beijing Winter Olympics skiing events, is expected to enforce strict travel restrictions.

In Beijing, measures equivalent to a lockdown have already been in place since last month. To enter Beijing from other regions, a negative nucleic acid test (PCR) certificate conducted within 48 hours must be submitted. Residents from areas with confirmed COVID-19 cases are virtually prohibited from entering Beijing. Additionally, Beijing authorities have imposed restrictions on the public transportation system, including reducing flights. While leaving Beijing for other regions is relatively free, the reverse is very difficult.

Guangxi Province, which borders Vietnam, has also recently urged people not to travel to other regions unless absolutely necessary.

As sporadic resurgences of COVID-19 cluster infections continue, travel restriction measures during the Lunar New Year holiday period are expected to increase across China's provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions.

In fact, Zhejiang Province reported a total of 138 confirmed cases from the 5th to the 12th. Also, in areas such as Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region near the China-Russia border, 529 confirmed cases have occurred in two weeks, and despite lockdown measures by Chinese epidemic prevention authorities, the spread has not been easily contained.

The Lunar New Year is China's largest holiday, with a total of 3 billion trips made. A large traveling population means a significant impact on China's domestic consumption. Some in Beijing predict that due to the travel restraint order amid the COVID-19 resurgence, the special economic benefits of the Beijing Winter Olympics will be minimal. Apart from the fact that the Beijing Winter Olympics were held during a pandemic, there will be almost no economic effect. Because of this, concerns are emerging that China's economic growth rate for the first quarter of 2022 could potentially show negative growth (considering the base effect).

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