China has introduced a digital Covid-19 "vaccine passport" for its citizens who are planning to travel overseas, in a bid to encourage the resumption of global travel, Reuters reported.

Among the first to debut the passport

The move comes as inoculation programmes are picking up in multiple countries.

Along with countries like Bahrain, it is one of the first to roll out such a scheme as a path towards regular interaction and to reopen their economies. Some countries in the European Union, such as Denmark and Sweden, have also announced plans to launch a vaccine passport.

According to Caixin Global, individuals' Covid-19-related details such as test results, vaccination status, and the kind of vaccine they received, will be displayed on a programme on the app.

The Chinese foreign ministry also said a printed copy of the certificate will be recognised as well.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday, Mar. 7, that they will be careful to "fully protect personal privacy and contribute to the mutual recognition of nucleic acid test results and vaccination records, thus facilitating safe and orderly flow of personnel", Nikkei Asia reported.

Road to widespread international travel

While no other country agreed upon a mutual recognition of vaccination status for the resumption of interpersonal exchanges, the Israeli ambassador to China expressed her interest in an interview with Global Times.

China's Covid-19 safety measures currently require visitors to be quarantined for up to 21 days, depending on the the province or municipality they are travelling to.

However, it has yet to announce any plans to relax quarantine restrictions for vaccinated arrivals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) previously said in January that "there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficacy of vaccination", regarding the use of proof of inoculation as a requirement for cross-border travel.

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