The Latest Breaking News from Beijing

Chinese tourism influx raises fears

An overload of tourists and an overwhelmed Thai healthcare system are issues to monitor next year after China fully reopens, with up to 500,000 tourists projected to start travelling during Chinese New Year.

Bangkok Post · Dec 27, 2022

Tourism stocks surge as China removes travel curbs

Thai tourism stocks soared yesterday on news that Beijing is lifting travel curbs earlier than expected, boosting hopes that Thailand's tourism sector, trade and spending would recover much faster than the previous forecast.

Bangkok Post · Dec 27, 2022

Taiwan extends mandatory military service amid China tension

Taiwan announced it is extending its compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, a signal to Beijing and Washington it is serious about defending itself.

Tribune News Service · Dec 27, 2022

Joy in China as mandatory Covid quarantine for inbound travellers set to end

In a snap move late Monday, China said from January 8 inbound travellers would no longer be required to quarantine on arrival in a further unwinding of hardline Covid-19 controls that had torpedoed the country's economy and sparked nationwide protests.

France 24 · Dec 27, 2022

US blasts China’s military drills near Taiwan as ‘provocative’

The Biden administration criticized Beijing’s military drills near Taiwan this week as “provocative,” insisting it will continue helping the government in Taipei defend itself.

Tribune News Service · Dec 27, 2022

Chinese make travel plans as Beijing dismantles zero-COVID rules

Chinese people, cut off from the rest of the world for three years by stringent COVID-19 curbs, flocked to travel sites on Tuesday ahead of borders reopening next month, even as rising infections strained the health system and roiled the economy.

Reuters · Dec 27, 2022

Xi urges steps to 'protect' lives as China relaxes Covid rules

China said Monday it would scrap mandatory quarantine on arrival, further unwinding years of strict virus controls as the country battles a surge in cases.

France 24 · Dec 26, 2022

Concern grows as China stops announcing COVID cases

BEIJING -- The Chinese government announced Sunday that it will stop announcing new COVID-19 cases, which it had been doing every day thus far.

The Japan News/Yomiuri · Dec 26, 2022

China holds biggest military drill near Taiwan since Pelosi trip

China sent 71 warplanes near Taiwan as a part of its biggest display of military might since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically run island, with Taipei accusing Beijing of “military intimidation”.

Bangkok Post · Dec 26, 2022

Taiwan Reports China's Largest Incursion Yet to Air Defense Zone

Seventy-one Chinese air force aircraft including fighter jets and drones entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone in the past 24 hours, the island's government said on Monday, the largest reported incursion to date. Of the aircraft, 43 also crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial buffer between the two…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Dec 26, 2022