Thirty-two countries have imposed restrictions in connection with an outbreak of coronavirus in China, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said.
“By mid-January, 32 countries in the world have imposed special restrictions on tourist entry associated with travel from China. Most of them are Asian and European countries,” the report said.
According to the organization, this could slow the recovery of international tourism after the coronavirus pandemic, as China was the largest outbound tourism market in the world until 2020. In 2022, international tourist arrivals were reported to be only 63% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
On January 8, Chinese authorities lifted some of the restrictions on travel to the country for foreign tourists and the departure of its citizens abroad. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country after abandoning the “zero tolerance for covid” policy, many governments began imposing entry restrictions on tourists who had visited China before traveling to their country. In particular, Japan, South Korea, India, the United States, Spain, Italy, and many other countries require such passengers to test negative for coronavirus or proof of vaccination, and some have introduced mandatory testing.
India has probably already surpassed China in terms of population, and experts expect the growth to continue at least until 2050.
According to the independent World Population Review (WPR), India’s population was 1.417 billion at the end of 2022. Another analytical platform, Macrotrends, estimates India’s population at 1.428 billion.
China’s population declined last year for the first time in more than 60 years – by 850,000 to 1.412 billion people, according to data released Tuesday by China’s State Statistics Office.
India, where half the population is under the age of 30, is expected to be the fastest-growing economy in years to come. To take advantage of rising demographics, the country’s government needs to create millions of jobs, Bloomberg notes.
“What’s needed now is a massive economic support program that would create jobs in a variety of sectors,” said Nomura Holdings Inc. economist Sonal Varma. – And we’re already seeing the foundations for that being laid.”
WPR expects India’s population to continue to grow at least through 2050.
According to the UN, more than half of global population growth between 2022 and 2050 will come from just eight countries: India, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.
Three ships carrying corn and wheat left Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported.
“Three ships left Ukrainian ports on January 17, carrying a total of 119,000 tons of grain and other food as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the report said.
Two dry-cargo vessels Kestrel S (26.5 thousand tons of wheat) and Great Arsenal (25.5 tons of wheat) went to Turkey. Navios Helios vessel will deliver 67 thousand tons of corn to China.
Four dry-cargo ships are also on their way to Ukrainian ports, which on Tuesday passed through the maritime humanitarian corridor.
The JCC reported that “77 applications for participation in the initiative have been submitted.” Nine ships are awaiting permission to enter Ukrainian ports, while 24 loaded dry cargo ships are waiting to depart for their destinations.
“As of January 17, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 17,757,311 tons. A total of 1,307 dry cargo vessels have been allowed to move so far: 649 to arrive at Ukrainian ports and 658 to leave them,” the JCC summarized.
On Friday, 12 bulk carriers with corn, wheat, soybeans and sunflower meal left Ukrainian ports, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reports.
“On January 13, twelve vessels left Ukrainian ports, they are transporting a total of 346,356 tonnes of grain and other food within the framework of the Black Sea grain initiative,” the report says.
Two bulk carriers Cuma (70,799 tonnes of corn) and Georgia T (61,252 tonnes of sunflower meal) are heading to China, two vessels Solar (37,205 tonnes of wheat) and Bosphorus King (25,000 tonnes of corn) are heading to Italy. Two more bulk carriers Rio (8,500 tonnes of wheat) and Umit G (4,300 tonnes of wheat) headed for Greece.
The vessel Papua will deliver 29,300 tonnes of soybeans to the Netherlands, the vessel Cape Scott – 28,000 tonnes of corn to Portugal, the vessel New Faith – 26,500 tonnes of corn to Spain.
In addition, two vessels Garnet (33,000 tonnes of corn) and Muzaffer Ana (11,500 tonnes of soybeans) went to Turkey. Lady Hatice will ship 11,000 tonnes of sunflower meal to Morocco.
Five vessels are also being sent to the ports of Ukraine, which passed through the humanitarian corridor on Friday.
The JCC reported that “79 applications for participation in the initiative were submitted.” Ten vessels are awaiting permission to enter the ports of Ukraine, 14 loaded vessels are awaiting departure to their destinations.
“As of January 13, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from three Ukrainian ports is 17.3 million tonnes. A total of 1,286 vessels have been allowed to move at the moment: 639 to arrive at Ukrainian ports and 647 to exit them,” the JCC summed up.
Chinese authorities on Sunday began lifting border crossing restrictions in China that have been in place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomberg reported.
So, starting Jan. 8, individuals arriving in China will no longer need to go into quarantine after arriving in the country. However, 48 hours before arrival they will be required to obtain a negative test result for COVID-19 and present it to the PRC.
On Sunday, Chinese authorities also began issuing ordinary visas and temporary residence permits to foreigners. At the same time, residents of mainland China can again obtain passports and tourist visas.
However, according to the Associated Press, only a very limited resumption of China’s international air traffic can be expected for the time being.
Also on Sunday, authorities resumed passenger service on land and sea routes between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong special administrative region. Travelers, however, will need negative COVID-19 tests 48 hours before travel. The government has also imposed restrictions on the daily number of people who can travel between mainland China and Hong Kong.
The lifting of many travel restrictions came into effect after China began its annual 40-day travel period the previous day to coincide with the Lunar New Year, which this time falls on January 22, 2023. At this time, China is experiencing the world’s largest annual migration of its population, as they disperse to their homelands or travel around the country with relatives.
Since 2020, China has had a “zero tolerance” policy for COVID-19, which has meant applying measures such as lockdowns and mandatory quarantine for those who come into contact with infected people. At the same time, the Chinese economy was showing the lowest growth rate in almost fifty years. But in December, Chinese authorities lifted a series of restrictions adopted to contain the spread of the virus, causing a spike in illnesses and deaths.
The United States, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia, Germany and Sweden announced some restrictive measures against travelers from China amid the COVID-19 wave. In particular, they decided to require all persons arriving from the PRC to present a negative test for COVID-19.
According to Worldometers, a portal that specializes in statistics on major world events, China has diagnosed approximately 482,000 cases of the coronavirus and 5,200 deaths from the effects of infection throughout the pandemic.
Three dry cargo vessels with corn and sunflower meal departed from Ukrainian ports on Wednesday, the Joint Coordinating Centre (JCC) has reported.
“On January 4, three ships left Ukrainian ports, carrying a total of 197,851 tonnes of grain and other food under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the JCC said.
Three bulk carriers – Presinge (70,514 tonnes of corn), Shen Yu 79 (64,667 tonnes of corn) and Mona KH (44,670 tonnes of corn and 18,000 sunflower meal) – are heading to China.
Seventy applications to join the Black Sea Grain Initiative have been submitted, the center said.
In addition, six ships are awaiting permission to enter the Ukrainian ports, 26 loaded dry cargo ships are waiting to sail to their destinations.
“As of January 4, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 16,630,516 tonnes. A total of 1,239 voyages (616 inbound and 616 outbound) have been enabled so far,” the JCC said.
