China Scraps Covid Curbs on Ports, Foreign Ship Crews

What’s new: China will soon drop restrictions imposed on cargo ports for more than a year as the country reopens its borders after ending a three-year-old “zero-Covid” strategy.

China is set to scrap the so-called closed-loop management of ports starting Jan. 8 when the country officially downgrades the management of Covid-19, according to several staffers at the Shanghai Port, the world’s largest container port.

The policy change means frontline workers at Chinese ports, including pilots, foreign vessel service staffers and stevedores will no longer be required to stay isolated during work shifts.

China’s immigration authority on Tuesday also announced the resumption of visa issuance for foreign ship crews to enter the country, ending a year-long landing ban on foreign sailors.

The changes will alleviate workforce strain at Chinese ports and stabilize the country’s trade flows, industry experts say.

Background: China introduced strict virus control rules on ports in August 2021, requiring frontline workers to stay within a closed loop connecting their work sites and dorms during their seven- to 14-day shifts. Workers also need to be quarantined after their shifts end before they can move freely.

Such measures have effectively contained virus spread but also reduced efficiency of port operations, Zhou Shu, a trader at the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, said.

Since late November, China has moved to abandon most Covid control measures that have been in place for almost three years under the “zero-Covid” policy. On Monday, the National Health Commission said China will stop treating Covid-19 as a “Class A” infectious disease starting Jan. 8 and remove restrictions on international travels, in another major reopening step.

International airline crews and airport workers that have followed similar closed loop management are also expecting for the changes, industry sources said.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)

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