China opened to international students for the first time in more than two years, easing entry restrictions for international students following the Covid-19 outbreak.

International students with valid Chinese study and residence permits or APEC business travel cards will be allowed to enter China starting Wednesday, the US embassy in China said in a statement posted on WeChat late Tuesday. Chinese embassies in Japan and India also issued similar statements.

While the country has temporarily allowed some students into the country for some time, the move shows Beijing is working to normalize all aspects of the economy – while sticking to its Covid Zero approach. Anyone entering China will still face one of the densest pandemic border regimes in the world, with mandatory traveller quarantines still in place.

According to the state-run Global Times, allowing international students to return does not mean China has loosened its strict coronavirus control measures, nor does it mean the government has abandoned its dynamic zero-coronavirus policy. The report added that Lu Hongzhou, a health commentator and director of the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, said the quarantine period for inbound travellers was unlikely to be further shortened in the short term.

Even after easing quarantine rules in June, China still has some of the strictest entry requirements in the world. Arriving travellers must spend seven days in a quarantine facility and monitor their health at home for three days. Flights to the country are also restricted.

The country welcomed 492,185 international students in 2018, below the US enrolment of more than 1 million for the 2019-2020 school year, a vital industry. Most Chinese students are from South Korea, followed by Thailand and Pakistan.