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Updated Dec 12, 2022, 6:18pm EST
East Asia

China’s US ambassador: COVID rules will be further relaxed and international travel will get easier in near future

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Ambassador Qin Gang in conversation with Semafor's Steve Clemons at Semafor's Africa Summit in Washington, DC.
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China’s ambassador to the United States said Monday that he expects COVID restrictions in China to be further relaxed “in the near future,” and international travel to the country will become easier.

During an interview at Semafor’s Africa Summit in Washington, Ambassador Qin Gang described China’s COVID rules as “dynamic, not rigid.”

“We are making dynamic readjustments to our response measures. Now the measures are being relaxed, and in the near future I believe that the measures will be further relaxed,” Qin said.

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China’s government announced last week that it was rolling back several strict pandemic rules. The ambassador did not directly address a question about whether widespread anti-lockdown protests contributed to the government’s decision, but said, “we know people’s concerns.”

“We know the importance of the coordination of COVID response and economic growth,” Qin said, adding that the government is taking a responsible approach “to protect people’s lives facing the threat of COVID.”

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