Traveling out of China? You might need a negative COVID test

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

The U.S. will require a negative COVID test for travelers coming from China, Hong Kong, and Macau starting from January 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday. Governments are rushing to roll out new restrictions ahead of a travel boom from the world’s most populous nation, with hundreds of millions of residents in China estimated to be infected after an abrupt end to COVID zero.

• The earliest place that will require a negative COVID test is Japan (December 30), followed by Taiwan and India (both on January 1). Malaysia has put additional tracking and surveillance rules in place, but did not impose testing requirements.
• Italy will also require a negative COVID test for arrivals and those in transit, after half of the passengers on two flights from China tested positive in Milan. However, most of the people had Omicron and did not carry any new concerning COVID variants.
• On the other hand, the European Union (EU) will not impose any restrictions, despite pressure from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for fellow bloc members to follow suit on her government’s new testing mandate.
• Australia will also not change its rules on allowing travelers from China into the country, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday. The Philippines has made a similar statement.

China appoints a new chief for Taiwan: Sòng Tāo 宋涛, 67, will lead the Taiwan Affairs Office, which formulates policies on Taiwan, coordinates legal affairs related to the island, and manages cross-strait business and cultural affairs.

• Song was former head of the International Department of the Communist Party’s Central Committee. He previously served as Chinese ambassador to Guyana and to the Philippines in the 2000s, before becoming the vice minister of foreign affairs in 2011.
• He also has the trust of Chinese leader Xí Jìnpíng 习近平: In 2017, Song visited North Korea as Xi’s special envoy to develop bilateral ties.
• Song also spent his early career in the eastern province of Fujian — the same Chinese province where Xi consolidated much of his power.

Beijing relaxes on gaming but slaps more regulations on edtech: Stocks in the sector plummeted after China’s Ministry of Education today published new restrictions that limit the fees and operating hours of private tutoring services for primary and secondary students.

• Edtech companies that offer non-curricular tutoring will now have to end physical classes by 8:30 p.m. and online sessions by 9 p.m.
• The new rules also curb one-time charges to 5,000 yuan ($720).
• The move comes after China yesterday approved a batch of 44 foreign game titles, suggesting that any ease to Beijing’s tech crackdown has not yet spread to its embattled edtech industry.

Meanwhile, Alibaba can “advance” in the new year, Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang (张勇 Zhāng Yǒng) told his staff today. His optimistic comments signal that the Chinese tech giant hopes to move on from a painful year brought on by Beijing’s crackdown on the country’s tech sector.

All limits on passenger flights to be lifted: Yesterday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued a plan for the full resumption of international passenger flights from January 8, and the cancellation of all pandemic control measures, including testing and quarantine. See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• Hikvision spinoff has an IPO.
• Big shipbuilding profits.

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