China’s state-run Global Times reported on Monday visa applications will be “streamlined” for foreign visitors who have been inoculated with vaccines produced in China.
The “streamlined” process is essentially the visa system in place before the coronavirus pandemic, which means visitors who have not received Chinese vaccinations will have to follow the longer and more demanding visa procedures implemented after the Wuhan outbreak.
According to the Global Times, Chinese embassies in Japan, Israel, Thailand, Pakistan, and the Federated States of Micronesia have begun informing local visa applicants of the streamlined option.
“Chinese embassies in these countries also noted in the statement that COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] nucleic acid tests and serology IgM antibody tests taken within 48 hours are still required upon arrival, and travelers must follow local quarantine rules at their destinations in China,” the Global Times wrote.
The Global Times quoted “Chinese experts” who saw these special arrangements as a precursor to a “vaccine passport” system. The Chinese government is pressuring the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) to endorse a worldwide vaccine passport system and let China take the lead role in developing it.
Channel News Asia noted the Chinese government did not explain why streamlined visas should only be available to foreigners who have been inoculated with vaccines made in China. China’s vaccine products are notably less effective than the vaccines developed in the U.S. and U.K., and the Chinese people themselves have not been eager to get vaccine shots made in China.