Beijing 'looks forward' to facilitating travel
Beijing said on Thursday it looks forward to more countries joining it in providing more convenience for the movement of Chinese and foreign people, after Australia removed Covid-19 testing requirements for travellers from the country. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing believes that for all countries, Covid response measures need to be science-based and proportionate. "We are looking forward to more countries working with China to do more to facilitate cross-border travel," Mao told reporters at a regular press briefing. Australia said it will drop the requirement for travellers arriving from China to test for Covid-19 before departure from midnight on March 11, the country's health minister said in a statement on Thursday. The measures also apply to travellers from Hong Kong and Macau. “This is a sensible, measured decision based on decreasing Covid-19 case numbers in China, regular data updates from China on case numbers, and the fact that we have strengthened our capacity to detect and respond to emerging variants of concern within Australia of international origin,” Health Minister Mark Butler said. (Reuters)