Foreign business groups welcomed the decision, given quarantine and travel restrictions had been their major concern over the past three years of the pandemic.

Colm Rafferty, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in China, said the end to quarantine “clears the way for resumption of normal business travel”.

“It finally feels as if China has turned the corner,” Rafferty said.

Jens Hildebrandt, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in China, said the announcement was welcome because the situation was “crushing business confidence” among German companies this year.

“Trust in doing business in China will return if the Chinese government takes decisive action to revitalise the economy and further facilitates business travel,” he said.

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China to fully reopen borders and shelve mandatory quarantine from January 8

China to fully reopen borders and shelve mandatory quarantine from January 8

Since the pandemic erupted three years ago, China has imposed tough controls to prevent the spread of the virus, including quarantine and compulsory PCR testing, fewer incoming flights and suspension of outbound travel.

These controls have cut the country off from the rest of the world and come at a high economic cost, dragging down the already staggering economy and hindering normal business exchanges.

Chinese markets lost a lot of their allure as a prime investment destination and many foreign companies started to diversify their supply chains.

There have also been concerns about the loss of foreign talent, a decline that could undermine China’s growth potential and global competitiveness.

The British Chamber of Commerce in China said it expected Beijing to resume in-person exchanges, contact that was crucial but had been in short supply at all levels since early 2020.

“[The reopening], if fully implemented, will undoubtedly also contribute to addressing the difficulties in employing and retaining international talent, which was the top challenge facing British businesses over the past 12 months,” the chamber said.

“Importantly, it will hopefully contribute to restoring optimism and reinstating China as a priority investment destination.”

The German embassy in Beijing also said it welcomed the relaxation of Covid controls on international travel.

“Bilateral relations thrive on personal contact. We hope therefore that in-person meetings, dialogue and exchange programmes and visits will soon take place as easily and regularly as they used to,” an embassy spokesman said.

Rafferty, from AmCham China, said the resilience of bilateral trade throughout the pandemic had been a bright spot amid the heightened tensions between the United States and China and the normalisation of exchanges would help to remedy those tensions.

“We firmly believe that the ability for people from both countries to meet face to face once again will help to facilitate a more positive trajectory in the bilateral relationship,” he said.

“As a next step, our member companies seek the rapid resumption of flights into and out of China, which will help bring ticket prices back to an affordable level, and facilitate the normalisation of travel.”

Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the announcement was “overdue but most welcome” but there had been concerns about the risks of virus mutation in China.

“China is rejoining the world. The open question is will there be new mutations, will China all of sudden be considered the hotspot for viruses. All of these remain to be seen. We are not out of the woods,” he said.

“It still shows China is only stepwise opening up to the outside world, where inside China it seems to be opening floodgates.”