Aerial photo taken on April 28, 2018 shows a new Beijing airport under construction in Daxing District of Beijing, capital of China. China's civil aviation industry is accelerating its advance into the digital era, with major players sending clear signals of new opportunities worldwide.

Chinese authorities announced Tuesday they will require all airport arrivals from overseas to undergo nucleic acid testing up to five days prior to departure at health institutions designated or recognized by Chinese embassies overseas.

The measure acts as part of the country's latest efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Chinese nationals boarding a flight home can upload negative nucleic acid test results via a health mini-program on WeChat, the most frequently used social media platform in China, according to a statement jointly issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign nationals need to apply for health certification from Chinese embassies and consulates and provide negative nucleic acid test results, the statement reads.

Relevant airlines are responsible for checking inbound passengers' health codes or certifications, and those without the necessary documents will not be permitted to board planes departing for China, the statement says. 

The move aims to boost and guarantee cross-border flows of people, benefit resumption of manufacturing and businesses as well as people-to-people exchanges, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday.

Wang said that Chinese embassies will earnestly evaluate the nucleic acid testing capacities of the countries they are located in, with specific measures to be announced at a later time based on sufficient communications with those countries.

"The policy is timely as the coronavirus outbreak is largely under control at home and the country faces more pressure to prevent imported COVID-19 cases," Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times Tuesday.

He said that the number of passengers affected by the new policy would be not large because many countries are cautious in resuming international flights for fear of cross-border spread of the coronavirus. "In addition, it takes a much shorter time to get the result of a nucleic acid test. For example, it can be done in less than 24 hours in China," he said.

The latest data from the CAAC shows that Chinese airlines transported 140,000 passengers on international flights in June, 2.3 percent of the passenger volume compared with the same month last year.


Newspaper headline: Negative test results required for flight arrivals to China