Hong Kong and Shanghai Lose 'International City' Appeal Due to Extreme COVID-19 Measures

Published 23 Apr.2022 21:39(KST)

Sharp Decline in Europeans Living in China Since COVID-19

In Shanghai, known as China's "economic capital," where the city lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 continues, residents lined up on the 16th to undergo nucleic acid testing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] According to the US CNN broadcast on the 22nd (local time), Shanghai and Hong Kong are losing their appeal as international cities due to China's strict COVID-19 prevention policies.

While other Chinese cities have been gradually reopening to the West after COVID-19, Shanghai and Hong Kong remain under lockdown.

Currently, Shanghai has been under a full lockdown for nearly a month due to extreme COVID-19 prevention measures. Hong Kong has been maintaining quarantine and travel restrictions for three years.

According to CNN, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong Airport was one of the busiest airports in the world.

Every day, 1,100 passenger and cargo flights arrived in Hong Kong from 200 cities worldwide, but on the 19th, only one flight arrived in Hong Kong from outside the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Hong Kong authorities, while more than 180,000 people left the city in February and March, only 39,000 people entered.

Many foreigners also reside in Shanghai, but fears of having to leave soon are growing.

J?rg Butke, head of the European Union (EU) Chamber of Commerce in China, estimates that the number of Europeans living in China has halved since the COVID-19 pandemic and warned that there could be another large-scale exodus during the summer when the school term ends.

He told CNN, "It would not be surprising if half of those remaining leave."

Singapore, which competed with Hong Kong for the reputation of Asia's top international city, declared "gradual return to normal life (with COVID)" last year, the first among Asian countries.

Some businesses in Hong Kong have shown interest in relocating to Singapore, and feeling the crisis, Hong Kong partially lifted flight bans and shortened quarantine requirements last month. However, CNN reported that this is insufficient to alleviate the inconveniences faced by foreigners residing in Hong Kong.