Exception to 8-Day Quarantine Guidelines for Overseas Arrivals
Diplomatic Mission Undertaken 6 Days After Returning on the 19th
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] Chinese President Xi Jinping, who attended international conferences consecutively in mid-month, resumed his external activities six days after returning home by holding talks with Cuban President Miguel D?az-Canel.
On the 25th, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that President Xi held talks with President D?az-Canel at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. According to the report, President D?az-Canel was on a state visit to China from the 24th to the 26th at Xi's invitation. He is the first Latin American head of state to visit China since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and is a representative socialist ally.
President Xi, who attended the Group of Twenty (G20) summit (Bali, Indonesia) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit (Bangkok, Thailand) held consecutively from the 14th to the 19th, returned to China on the 19th and resumed external activities six days after his return. It appears that he was not subject to China's quarantine guidelines and isolation period, which require eight days (five days of facility quarantine plus three days of self-quarantine) upon entering the country from abroad.
Moreover, President Xi, who reportedly had conversations without masks and sat next to John Lee, the Hong Kong Chief Executive who was confirmed to have COVID-19, during the APEC meeting, is supposed to be subject to concentrated quarantine, including separate facility quarantine and periodic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Earlier, on the 21st, Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to questions about President Xi's health at a regular briefing by saying, "Chinese delegations visiting foreign countries always comply with COVID-19 prevention regulations," which sparked speculation that President Xi might have been quarantined.
Meanwhile, according to the Chinese National Health Commission, the number of new COVID-19 cases nationwide on the 24th was 32,695 (including 29,654 asymptomatic cases), marking the second consecutive day with over 30,000 cases and the highest number since official statistics began in April 2020. Until early this month, China's confirmed cases were around 2,700, but within ten days, the number surged to over 10,000 (November 10), then jumped to over 20,000 (November 15) five days later, showing an unprecedented rapid spread. Authorities have responded by strengthening quarantine measures and implementing emergency responses.
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