France and China Remove COVID-19 Entry Restrictions

The king shaking hands with a member of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Emmanuel Macron's former French presidential foreign affairs advisor
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] France has lifted the COVID-19 related restrictions imposed on travelers arriving from China since last month.

The French Embassy in Beijing issued a statement yesterday, announcing that "travelers coming from China to France no longer need to submit a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 48 hours."

The embassy also informed that the random PCR tests previously conducted on passengers arriving from China at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport have been discontinued.

France introduced these entry restrictions after switching its policy from 'Zero COVID' to 'With COVID' in China last December, which led to a sharp increase in confirmed cases.

This decision by the French government coincided with the visit of Wang Yi, the top Chinese diplomat and member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Political Bureau, to France. During his European tour, Wang met consecutively with President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Paris on the 15th. On the 16th, he co-chaired the 23rd China-France Strategic Dialogue with Emmanuel Bonne, foreign policy advisor to the French president, discussing comprehensive bilateral cooperation plans.