Japan and China are expected to agree as early as this month on resuming travel by both short- and long-term businesspeople between the two countries, Japanese government sources said Tuesday.
The nations are looking to revive their coronavirus pandemic-hit economies, the world's second and third largest, through a restart of two-way business travel.
Some 9.59 million people visited Japan from China in 2019, including around 370,000 for business, both the largest numbers among all countries and regions, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
Under the envisioned agreement, short-term business travelers will be exempted from having to enter 14-day self-isolation upon arrival to the respective countries provided they take necessary preventive measures against spreading the coronavirus, such as turning in their travel itineraries and providing proof of negative test results, the sources said.
Expatriates and other long-term residents will still need to stay in quarantine for 14 days, they said. Students will also be allowed to visit Japan and China if they observe a self-quarantine period.
Japanese and Chinese officials have been in negotiations to reopen borders reciprocally since July, given the relatively low number of coronavirus infections in their respective countries, they said.
If reached, the two countries' bilateral agreement on the restart of short-term business trips will be Japan's fourth following similar deals with Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
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