China to resume issuing short-term visas for tourists from South Korea

China will resume issuing short-term visas for South Korean nationals on February 18, the Chinese embassy in Seoul said Wednesday.

The move follows South Korea’s decision last week to end Covid-linked travel restrictions on Chinese nationals — rules that sparked a furious response and tit-for-tat measures from Beijing.

From Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Seoul and other consulates “will resume issuing short-term visas for Korean citizens to visit China, for business, transit and other private affairs”, the embassy said on its official WeChat account.

China scrapped visa-free transit for South Korean and Japanese citizens last month after Seoul and Tokyo imposed Covid measures on travellers from China, where coronavirus cases were surging at the time.

China has seen a boom in outbound travel after the government abruptly abandoned strict Covid policies that included mandatory quarantines for all arrivals.