The UK is not looking at imposing travel restrictions on people arriving from China, Downing Street has said, after Beijing announced it would reopen its borders despite a surge in Covid cases.
Strict Covid laws have kept China largely isolated for almost three years, but its government has announced it will resume issuing passports.
Japan, India, South Korea and Taiwan have responded by requiring virus tests for visitors from China.
US officials have said Washington is considering taking similar steps.
Asked if the UK would do the same, Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said: “That is not something we are looking at.”
China’s abrupt decision to lift some of the world’s strictest anti-Covid controls comes as it tries to reverse an economic downturn.
It has ended curbs that confined millions of people to their homes and sparked protests, but hospitals have been flooded with unwell patients as the virus spreads.
The announcement late on Monday that quarantine for travellers from abroad would end on January 8 is the biggest step towards ending limits that have kept most foreign visitors out of China since early 2020.
Also on Monday, the government downgraded the official seriousness of Covid and dropped a requirement for people with the virus to be quarantined.
Controls had been expected to stay in place at least through to mid-2023.
