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China will be scrapping its PCR test requirement for travellers arriving in the country, according to a statement by its foreign ministry on Apr. 25.

Starting from Apr. 29, incoming travellers can take antigen tests within 48 hours prior to departure other than nucleic acid tests.

Airlines will also no longer be checking the results of pre-departure tests.

Facilitating cross-border travel

The spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, Mao Ning, said that this was part of China’s efforts to “facilitate cross-border travel”, but reminded travellers to continue to “strictly follow [the country's] Covid protocols”.

Currently, China still requires travellers to undergo pre-departure PCR testing, including those from Singapore.

The rule has been said to be a major factor deterring travellers from heading to the country, Bloomberg reported.

China's recovery has been slow, with government data showing that international flights in the first three months of 2023 were only at 12.4 per cent of 2019 levels.

From zero-Covid to re-opening

The scrapping of PCR test requirements for incoming travellers comes a few months after China loosened of its stringent zero-Covid policy in December 2022.

This included dropping PCR testing rules for most public venues and allowing Covid positive patients to quarantine at home instead of a central facility.

The country later removed quarantine rules for overseas arrivals from Jan. 8, 2023 and reopened its borders to foreign visitors by allowing all types of visas to be issued.

Restoring Singapore-China exchanges to pre-pandemic levels

The announcement also follows a series of engagements between Singapore and China officials.

In February 2023, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met with China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang and noted that there “has been a progressive return" for travel between the two countries, but they were "not there yet".

In late March 2023, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also made an official trip to China, during which he met China’s President Xi Jinping.

They agreed that both sides should work towards resuming flight connectivity and people-to-people exchanges to pre-pandemic levels.

PM Lee had highlighted in his meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang that exchanges between Singapore and China were hindered because there were “not enough flights” and existing visa requirements on tourists to the mainland were not fully lifted.

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Top image via Unsplash/Ulrich & Mareli Aspeling