For many departing foreign residents, the lockdown was the last straw, after two years of strict COVID curbs that made it immensely difficult to fly in and out of China.
The country, whose zero-COVID approach towards the virus has increasingly made it out of step with the rest of the world, has slashed the quarantine time for inbound travellers from 14 days in a central facility to seven days, its biggest change to border restrictions put in place in early 2020.
According to the European Chamber, the number of foreigners in China has halved since the pandemic began. It predicts that number could halve again this summer, with few international workers coming in to replenish the numbers leaving.
“Talking to people who were scheduled to move (to Shanghai) in the summer, they are not, they’re going to Singapore, they’re going to Bangkok,” Kaye said. “Being based here, so many people can’t really do their jobs anymore, because they do require so much travel and so that’s made it prohibitive for so many.”
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