China’s new step towards post-coronavirus normality. After pioneering the use of tools such as digital codes to certify health status or mass testing of entire towns, the Asian giant has just launched its digital certificate of vaccination against covid. With their expedition, they intend to make it easier for their citizens to make international trips safely and to encourage economic recovery.
Initially, the certificate issued by China will contain information on the antidotes against the coronavirus received by that person as well as the results of the different tests to detect the pathogen they have undergone.
Mutual recognition could be with countries with the approved Chinese vaccine, in addition to Japan or Korea
The document, whose possession is not mandatory, will be encrypted in a QR code hosted on the popular Wechat platform (a mix of Facebook, WhatsApp and others) and will be accessible to authorities when necessary, although a paper version will also be available.
This health passport, which for now is not issued to foreigners residing on Chinese soil, was created to promote safe and orderly mobility between countries. “The pandemic is still with us, but the world economy needs to start anew, and meetings between people must resume without further delay,” summarized the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian.
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So far, it is unknown with which nations the Chinese Government is negotiating to ensure the interoperability of this document. Still, the state newspaper Global Times He pointed out yesterday that it is “very possible and practical” for China to establish a mutual recognition process with countries that have approved the use of Chinese vaccines – he cited Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia – or neighbors with whom it is convenient to resume exchanges as soon as possible. for economic reasons, in the case of Japan or South Korea.
Of course, it seems that Beijing will continue to oblige all people who arrive to its territory from abroad to comply with 14 days of strict quarantine, although it would be studying whether to make this requirement more flexible in the future for those already vaccinated.
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The Asian giant is no stranger to the use of this type of system. At the beginning of the pandemic, the country launched a tracking application that produced a “green code” for those users who had not been in close contact with a confirmed case or visited a place where infections have been detected. Possession of this code was mandatory to access public transport or numerous buildings, although with the improvement of the epidemiological situation in the country its use has been minimized.
With the implementation of the passport, the Asian country joins others such as Bahrain, which has also deployed a similar instrument so that the population can regain mobility and reactivate the economy. The European Union is also working to develop its own covid passport, with Spain, along with other economies dependent on tourism, as one of the main supporters of this document.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has questioned the use of these types of documents. The executive director of its Emergency Program, Michael Ryan, said Monday that these certificates will create “more inequalities”, since there are still no vaccines against the pathogen for everyone. “If decisions are made about what people who are vaccinated and about those who are not, can worsen the social inequality that already exists,” he emphasized.
Despite these reluctance, some Chinese experts said that Beijing could share its experience and provide technical support to WHO to organize the system. “When it comes to technology, Chinese companies could build an international platform in a week. But it would be better for WHO, rather than another country or regional organization, to organize it, in order to guarantee the independence, equity and security of the platform’s data, ”said Xiang Ligang, director of the Consumer Alliance of Information.
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