Korea-China Visa Restrictions Likely to Be Lifted This Week... What Are the Remaining Challenges?

Chinese Foreign Ministry "Seriously Considering Resuming Visa Issuance"
Increase in Flights for Substantial Normalization of Travel Yet to Come

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] As the short-term visa issuance restrictions between Korea and China are expected to be lifted within this week, attention is also focused on whether and when flight frequency will be increased for the practical normalization of exchanges.

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 13th, in response to a question about specific plans regarding the resumption of short-term visa issuance for Korean nationals traveling to China, "Korea's lifting of visa restrictions against China is a right step to reduce obstacles to personnel exchanges between the two countries," adding, "China is seriously considering this."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the Korean government, seeing that the spread of COVID-19 in China had passed its peak and entered a stabilization phase, announced on the 10th that it would resume issuing short-term visas to arrivals from China, which had been suspended since the 2nd of last month. Visa issuance was implemented from the following day, the 11th.

The timing for China to resume issuing short-term visas to arrivals from Korea is likely within this week. According to the Chinese Embassy in Korea and others, the Chinese side has already begun technical preparations, including consultations with relevant authorities. Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also mentioned at a regular briefing on the 10th that "China will actively consider resuming the review and issuance of short-term visas for Korean nationals traveling to China on an equal basis."

For practical normalization of exchanges, the normalization of flights remains the top priority. Flights between the two countries still stand at only about 5% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. While Korea resumed short-term visa issuance, it maintained the flight increase and entry route restrictions implemented at the same time. Currently, arrivals from China can only enter Korea through Incheon International Airport.

An official from the Korean Embassy in China explained, "We are continuously communicating with the Chinese side regarding flight increases," adding, "The pace of normalization will not be lagging behind Korea compared to Europe or the United States in discussions." He further elaborated, "The global recovery is expected to occur around this summer, and regarding Korea-China routes, we are considering with airlines whether to fully restore the routes as they were in 2019 or to establish new routes."

The timing of lifting the mandatory COVID-19 testing measures is also crucial. Korea still mandates pre- and post-arrival PCR testing for arrivals from China. The 20 countries overseas where China resumed group tours from the 6th impose no entry restrictions, including PCR testing, on Chinese nationals.

However, it is true that the quarantine atmosphere between the two countries has significantly improved compared to last month. The Korean government raised concerns about China requiring arrivals from Korea at Dalian Airport to wear white badges, and the Chinese authorities accepted this and have stopped distributing the badges. It is also known that the yellow badges previously distributed to arrivals from China by Korea were changed to green considering dissatisfaction.

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