Hong Kong-China border reopens for the first time in three years as city looks to rebuild economy

The border between Hong Kong and China fully reopened for the first time in three years, on Monday (February 6), as the city’s main focus remains on a campaign to rebuild its economy and tourism after years of Covid-isolation. The opening marks a step in Hong Kong’s bid to rebuild its reputation of being a business hub which connects mainland China to the rest of the world. This comes after the city witnessed some of the strictest and comparatively long imposition of Covid-19-related restrictions.

Hong Kong has since dropped its daily quotas and testing requirements as well as opened all boundary checkpoints which have freed visitors from some of the world’s stringent Covid-19-related travel measures. Additionally, the city also dropped its mandatory Covidtest that was required before travelling and lifted the ban on unvaccinated travellers from anywhere in the world. This comes days after Chief Executive John Lee unveiled a campaign which would revive Hong Kong’s economy and welcome back visitors which also aims to attract new investments.

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According to a report in the South China Morning Post, this also includes a bid to convince oil giant Saudi Aramco and its units to consider a secondary listing in Hong Kong. After the borders were opened the city saw a surge in the number of travellers where around 22,000 passengers used the previously closed border checkpoint at the Lo Wu station by Monday afternoon, said the city’s MTR Corp in a statement.

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Additionally, dozens of passengers stuck colourful post-it notes on a red wall outside the Lo Wu checkpoint while there were hundreds of red lanterns and large red banners outside the Shenzhen checkpoint to celebrate the resumption of services. The promotion campaign dubbed “Hello Hong Kong” also includes incentives like distributing 500,000 free flights to travellers which is yet to be done.

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According to a report by Bloomberg, mainland visitors to Hong Kong could rebound to 78 per cent of 2019 levels this year after the restrictions have been lifted. Last year, the city witnessed an uptick in the number of cases due to the omicron variant which also caused a wave of deaths among unvaccinated elderly and resulted in one of the deadliest outbreaks globally. This also comes on the day that the city begins its mass trial for prominent pro-democracy figures in what may be Hong Kong’s largest national security case to date.

(With inputs from agencies)

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