China to resume issuing passports and visas as virus curbs ease

Passengers prepare to board a flight at the airport in north-central China’s Jiangxi province (Ng Han Guan/AP/PA)

China says it will resume issuing ordinary visas and passports in another big step away from anti-virus controls that isolated the country for almost three years, setting up a potential flood of millions of Chinese going abroad for next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.

The announcement adds to abrupt changes that are rolling back some of the world’s strictest anti-virus controls as President Xi Jinping’s government tries to reverse an economic slump.