CNN —It has been a year since China reopened its borders, but despite loosening its stringent Covid-19 restrictions, foreign travelers have been slow to return to the country with numbers down more than 60% from pre-pandemic levels.
China’s border authorities recorded 35.5 million entries and exits by foreign nationals in 2023, according to the National Immigration Administration.
That’s nearly seven times more than the number from 2022, when the country was deep in its three-year self-imposed Covid isolation.
More than half of the border crossings made by foreign travelers in 2023 were recorded in the last three months of the year, according to data from the National Immigration Administration.
Chinese authorities issued a total of 711,000 residency permits of various types to foreign nationals living in the country in 2023, Zhang added.
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That’s, Zhang Ning, Zhang, Premier Li Qiang
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CNN, National Immigration Administration, Premier, Economic, Embassy
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