英语新闻｜外国人签证签发将恢复

China will resume issuing all types of visas starting on Wednesday, another step toward vigorous people-to-people exchanges between the country and the world.

3月15日，中国将开始恢复签发各类签证，这是中国与世界人民交流蓬勃发展迈出的的又一步。

The decision was announced by the Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs, which said the country will also resume issuing all types of port visas to applicants with lawful reasons.

外交部领事司宣布了这一决定，并表示还将恢复向有合法理由的申请人发放所有类型的港口签证。

Foreigners with visas that were issued before March 28, 2020, and are still valid will be allowed to enter the country, according to the statement.

声明表示，将允许持有2020年3月28日前签发且仍有效的签证的外国人入境。

Visa-free policies will be resumed for entry to the southern island province of Hainan and cruise tour groups at Shanghai ports.

海南和上海口岸邮轮旅游团将恢复免签政策。

In addition, visa-free entry to the southern province of Guangdong will be restored for tour groups of foreigners entering from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. A similar mechanism will be reinstated for tour groups from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to enter Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

此外，恢复对香港、澳门特别行政区入境的外国人旅游团免签入境广东省。东盟成员国旅游团赴广西壮族自治区桂林旅游也将恢复类似机制。

In March 2020, in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, China suspended the entry of most foreigners with valid visas, as well as the issuing of port visas and visa-free entries and transits for them.

2020年3月，为遏制新冠疫情蔓延，中国暂停了大部分持有效签证的外国人入境，同时暂停签发口岸签证和免签入境过境。

The changes announced on Tuesday mean that the country's visa policies have returned to what they were before the pandemic and show China's readiness to further open up, said Ren Yuanzhe, a professor in the department of diplomacy and foreign affairs management at China Foreign Affairs University.

中国外交学院外交与外事管理系教授任远喆说，3月14日宣布的变化意味着中国的签证政策已经恢复到疫情前的水平，表明中国愿意进一步开放。

"It is a great encouragement for foreigners to return to China," Ren said.

“对于外国人回国来说是一个很大的鼓励，”任远喆说。

The changes will also help boost China's economic performance, according to Ren, who said that restoring cross-border exchanges and trade is necessary for the country to achieve its growth target for this year.

任远喆还说，这些变化也将有助于提振中国的经济，恢复跨境交流和贸易对于中国实现今年的增长目标来说很有必要。

Li Shijie, dean of the School of Economics at Hainan University, said that with the new policies, the Hainan Free Trade Port will become more competitive in attracting international talent.

海南大学经济学院院长李世杰表示，新政出台后，海南自由贸易港在吸引国际人才方面将更具竞争力。

Insiders also expect a boost in tourism after the adjustment of the visa and entry policies.

业内人士还预计，签证和入境政策调整后，旅游业将得到提振。

Wang Zixi, who is in charge of Guilin's tourism authority, said the tourism industry in the city, which is famous for its natural scenery and has a visa-free transit policy for travelers from 52 countries, will rebound.

桂林市旅游局局长王子西表示，桂林以自然风光闻名，对来自52个国家的游客实行过境免签政策，旅游业将出现反弹。

Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, said he believes that the new policies will enable Hong Kong's travel agencies to arrange multi-destination travel for foreign tourist groups.

香港旅游协会执行会长崔定邦表示，他相信新政策能让香港旅行社为外国旅游团安排一程多站游。

Many foreign visitors normally come to Hong Kong for sightseeing or business, with the hope of also visiting the Chinese mainland, Chui said.

崔定邦还说，许多外国游客通常来香港观光或商务的同时也希望能到中国大陆旅游。

David Ferguson, an expat from Edinburgh, Scotland, who works in Beijing, said it is "essential" for China to encourage more foreigners to come and see for themselves what the country is like.

来自苏格兰爱丁堡、在北京工作的外籍人士戴维·弗格森(David Ferguson)表示，鼓励更多外国人来中国亲眼看看这个国家是什么样子，对中国来说“至关重要”。

This will help dissolve "widespread public hostility toward China in developed countries built almost entirely on ignorance and prejudice", said Ferguson, who has a Chinese permanent resident card.

拥有中国永久居民卡的弗格森说，这将有助于消除“发达国家对中国普遍存在的敌意，这种敌意几乎完全建立在无知和偏见之上”。

Eric Baden, a German who first visited in 1998 and now lives in Shanghai, said he was glad to see that travel to the nation is returning to normal. "This will allow foreign friends to reconnect with China, understand it better and help boost economic growth," he added.

埃里克·巴登是德国人，他于1998年首次访问上海，现居上海。他说他很高兴看到到前往该国的旅行正在恢复正常。他还补充说：“这将使外国朋友与中国重新建立联系，更好地了解中国，并有助于促进经济增长。”

As the new visa policy will facilitate the resumption of tourism and the recovery of international business travel and overseas studies, airlines are expected to increase international flights.

由于新的签证政策将促进旅游业、国际商务旅行和留学的恢复，预计航空公司将增加国际航班。

Liang Nan, director of the Department of Transport at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told a policy briefing in January that if the market recovers well, the number of flights to and from China by the end of the year is expected to reach about 80 percent of the level before the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 7,300 flights per week.

中国民航局交通运输司司长梁楠在1月的一次政策吹风会上表示，如果市场复苏良好，到今年年底，往返中国的航班数量预计将达到新冠前的80%左右，每周约有7300个航班。

According to data from FlightAI, a market insights platform of Trip.com, inbound flights have returned to about 20 percent of the 2019 level as of Tuesday, and the number of online searches is 90 percent of the 2019 figure.

根据携程旗下市场洞察平台FlightAI的数据，截至3月14日，入境航班已恢复至2019年水平的20%左右，在线搜索量为2019年的90%。

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday that China has decided to further expand the list of countries that Chinese tour groups can visit, starting on Wednesday.

与此同时，外交部发言人汪文斌3月14日表示，中国已决定从3月15日开始进一步扩大中国旅游团可访问的国家名单。

Vigorous

英 [ˈvɪɡərəs]  美 [ˈvɪɡərəs]

adj.  充满活力的

Cruise

英 [kruːz]   美 [kruːz]

n.  乘船游览

Reinstate

英 [ˌri:ɪnˈsteɪt] 美 [ˌriɪnˈstet]

v.  使恢复;