Back

China Update

Insights

 

China´s borders are opening! A quick update from Sisi Ye, CEO of the Schoenfeld International Chamber Music Competition

WFIMC: Good news from China! It seems like finally things are moving…
Sisi Ye: Three competitions already confirmed the dates for 2023: Schoenfeld from September 5-18; IPEA Shanghai from September 28 to October 6; and Shenzhen from November 12-24… It seems like every competition wants to announce their dates and tell the world that they are back! The other two WFIMC Competitions- Isaac Stern in Shanghai and Zhuhai will probably announce their plans soon.

Tell us, how did this policy change really happen? We read in the news that it all happened from one day to the other…Western media are looking at this very critically, of course, after China kept maintaining their zero covid policy so long. But how did people in the country react to this development? What did it feel like?
It´s hard to tell. I heard from friends, when they recently visited hospitals, that they  were all really full. China is open, but everyone is still wearing masks, of course. Even high protection masks. But in order for the situation to improve, I think we still need to promote vaccinations, especially for older people.
 

Health Screening at Shanghai Pudong international Airport- soon a thing of the past

So then they simply said "we are opening the country"?
The policy was very strict before Nov.30. We took covid tests almost every day. Free tests, of course. People in Guangzhou were having a difficult time with many new cases  before, and I had been working from home for almost a month. But I still remember- it was 3 O´Clock in the afternoon on Nov.30 when we received the news from the government that suddenly all the restrictions were lifted. I think some people really want to open the country and make life the same as before- like in 2019. But other people may not think that way… Many policies were announced to prepare the country for its reopening, and recently it was confirmed that on January 8th we will finally say goodbye to the quarantine policy for international travellers.

What about the QR Code system you had, the green codes to get you into stores and venues- is it still in place?
It is completely gone. You can go anywhere- things are just like before. Like in 2019…it´s just like nothing happened at all. You are not required to scan the code when you are going to concert halls or shopping mall and restaurants .  The app that shows which cities you have been travelling to within 14days is completely gone… 
And no more covid tests are required anywhere. Of course you can still get a test if you want, but you will have to pay for it by yourself. The price for a test is less than 2 Euros. 

And people are going out? dining? shopping?
People are quite careful at the moment. Some of the bigger cities like Beijing, where the first wave has already subsided, restaurants in those places are really full of people. But not here in Guangzhou.
And we are talking about the Omicron variant?
Yes it is Omicron according to the news.
 

©WFIMC 2023