The change in policy will also apply to travellers from Hong Kong and Taiwan in what is a major shift in China’s rollback of its Covid curbs

BioNTech vaccine shipment comes after China agreed to allow Germans in the country to get the shot following a deal during Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit in Beijing last month

China's "closed loop" system, which had been relied on by many factories throughout the zero-Covid era, is also beginning to fall apart

India looks set to be the economic standout in the year ahead, with the central bank forecasting 6% growth for the next fiscal year starting in March.

Smartphone giant is the latest tech firm to lay off workers, as sales and revenue have taken a hit in recent months as China battled Covid outbreaks

There is worry about the threat of a huge number of deaths, while the US voiced concern about virus mutations and the economic impacts, both at home and abroad

Stocks in China suffered their biggest fall in seven weeks, while Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney and most of Southeast Asia also declined. Indian markets, however, enjoyed a small rise.

The leader manufacturer of chips for automobiles has shut its plant in Beijing after workers caught Covid last week

China's rocky exit from zero-Covid has forced banks and financiers to dust off plans devised to cope with the health crisis, injecting greater of unpredictability into markets

Health officials are concerned about rural areas, which are likely to see the return of many family members next month, but have had little exposure to the virus since the pandemic erupted

There are fears of severe health impacts and major economic disruption as Beijing and other cities are experiencing huge waves of Covid cases

China is likely to roll out a fourth Covid shot – or second booster – this week for elderly citizens aged 60 and above, plus high-risk groups with serious underlying disease, the Global Times says.