China rolls out vaccine passport, aiming to revive foreign travel

Beijing seeks mutual recognition of national COVID-19 certificates

A nurse administers the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine to an airport worker in eastern China on Jan. 29. The country aims to inoculate 40% of its population by June. © AP

CK TAN, Nikkei staff writer

March 10, 2021 10:54 JST

SHANGHAI -- China has debuted a "coronavirus vaccine passport" as Beijing campaigns for mutual recognition of health certificates, hoping to support a return of wider international travel as inoculations spread.

The International Travel Health Certificate became downloadable through the WeChat mobile app Monday, similar to an existing health code app that tracks travel records. It contains COVID-19 vaccination information as well as results of nucleic acid diagnostic tests and serum antibody tests.