Dear Members and Friends
Autumn is upon us, the leaves are turning colorful, the Moon Festival is just behind us, and you are reading this newsletter as China enjoys the Golden Week holidays that follow the National Day celebrations.
Personally, I like this time of the year best because we reap the fruits of hard work in spring and summer. Autumn also reminds us that everything has an end, and we should prepare for the harsh winter conditions.
As far as the global pandemic is concerned, we have made further progress, and more countries have now access to sufficient quantities of vaccine. This is a positive outlook for the winter season in the northern hemisphere.
At this year’s Joint Economic Dialogue between China and Switzerland, which took place virtually, we received the information that a special office within Mofcom has been set up for facilitating business travelers in obtaining their visa more rapidly. If you have any such need, you can contact the Chinese Embassy in Berne or us. Quarantine regulations remain unchanged and must be followed as required by national and respective local government institutions. This is good news and will alleviate one of the biggest economic pain points of the global pandemic.
However, we would like to point out that permission is only one factor for travel to China. It has been noted that no seats are available on direct flights between Switzerland and China until January 2022.
Restriction-free travel to China, i.e. the resumption of travel regulations as before February 2020, is a topic that both the Swiss and Chinese governments are discussing. With the Chinese government’s zero-case policy in place and being followed with vigilance, we can expect this to happen in spring
2022 at the earliest.
Companies have become more and more used to conducting their activities virtually. However, shipping documents to China must be carefully planned, as we have observed documents being "quarantined" for two weeks and then sprayed with disinfectant before being delivered to the recipient in mainland China. Therefore, it is advisable to seal important documents in waterproof plastic bags to protect them from the sprayed liquids.
In the next few days, a cultural event that has its famous roots in Switzerland, will make its debut in China. The Montreux Jazz Festival China will take place in Hangzhou. The festival has been scaled down to address the current Covid situation in China. But it will take place and will feature performances of great musicians as well as state-of-the-art immersive technology – a proof that every mountain can be climbed step by step. We wish the team in China good luck and congratulate them on their success.
Kind regards and stay healthy,
Felix Sutter
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