The Chinese government on Tuesday stopped issuing visas for arrivals from Japan and South Korea in retaliation for tighter entry rules the two countries imposed on Chinese travellers. On Wednesday, Chinese officials followed up by halting port visas and visa-free transit through China for Japanese and South Korean citizens.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin defended the moves Wednesday, saying the actions were “entirely justified and reasonable”.
Wang noted that Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and other “friendly countries” have not adopted curbs against Chinese tourists.
China’s foreign ministry has stated that the visa stoppage is part of “reciprocal measures” against requirements that Chinese travellers show proof of a negative Covid test. Speaking to reporters in London, Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida called the Chinese move “extremely regrettable” and said it had “no apparent relation to precautions against the coronavirus”.
China’s measures will affect Japanese companies looking to send employees on business trips to China or personnel to Chinese operations.
“I’m concerned we may not be able to carry out new job appointments as planned,” said a manager at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which makes forklifts and other equipment in China. “There are other potential effects, such as expat workers in China not being able to bring over family members.”
Smaller companies are also weighing the impact of the new restrictions. Interior design firm Nomura, which handles events hosted by Japanese companies in China, is “keeping a close eye on whether client companies are revising their business plans”, a representative said.
Folofly, a Kyoto-based startup that imports Chinese-made electric vehicles to Japan, says it is unable to schedule business trips.
Some companies will use remote working methods developed during the pandemic to maintain contact with Chinese operations. A manager at Tokyo-based information technology provider NTT Data said, “We’ll minimise the impact by making use of online communication.”
Japanese students studying in China will also likely be affected. China was the second-largest destination for Japanese students studying abroad, after the US, in 2019, with about 16,000 Japanese attending university there.
In the 2020 fiscal year, new student arrivals plunged by 99% owing to the pandemic. The halt on visas comes as schools were anticipating a recovery. China reopened its borders to Japanese students for the first time in over two years just this past September.
A private university in Tokyo had been preparing to send four students to study abroad in three Chinese cities starting next month.
“Some students were happy about receiving their acceptance letters at the beginning of the week,” said a university spokesperson.
Last month, China abolished quarantine and PCR testing requirements, essentially ending its restrictive zero-Covid policy. But China has yet to reinstate visa-free travel for Japanese tourists. China has remained virtually closed to tourism from Japan since March 2020.