On January 12th, 2023, Sunrise International hosted a webinar on what China’s reopening means for overseas educational institutions. Led by COO of Sunrise David Weeks, the virtual event explored the country’s extreme pivot from zero covid, and what reopening implies for overseas education.

What Happened?

On January 8th, 2023, after three long years of strict government-enforced COVID-19 protocol restrictions, mainland China reopened travel crossings with Hong Kong and put mandated testing and centralized quarantine to a halt, effectively kissing the final straws of zero-covid goodbye. One of the strictest COVID administrations in the world officially reopened its borders once and for all. This means the 1.4 billion people that reside in the second largest economy on the planet are once again open to themselves and the rest of the world.

A few immediate takeaways from the reopening:

China no longer requires a mandated quarantine or a green health code. The only requirement for traveling is a negative test result taken 48 hours before departure.
There is no longer an essential quarantine or mandate in place. The current traveling protocol is a temperature check at the airport. If a fever is detected you take a rapid antigen test. If positive, you’re simply encouraged to isolate at home until a negative test is received.
Testing is no longer required for students or faculty to enter schools in Beijing, signaling the rest of China to follow suit.
China is reissuing passports and travel visas for mainland residents and ordinary visas and residence permits for foreigners.
China has downgraded COVID-19 to a Class B illness, effectively ending the government's ability to mandate quarantine and enforce lockdown regions.

So What Now?

Now that China has relinquished nearly all of its COVID protocols, the picture in turn becomes much less narrow-minded. The government's reduction in COVID enforcement this past month is a permanent effort to reopen its borders and economy. To those with raised skepticism about the permanence of the reopening, the decision, in this case, is a nearly irreversible one. It would be preposterous for China to return to a Covid zero policy because the government dismantled its vast testing infrastructure. For simple everyday tasks like going to a grocery store, citizens would have to go to a testing center and receive a negative test result. All the data and case counting metrics China had as a result of such an in-depth testing network are now gone, therefore it would be nearly impossible and far too expensive to reinstate any government-mandated lockdown procedures. The complete removal of mandated testing and these testing centers is an actionable sign that China’s reopening is here to stay.

Additionally, the rhetoric around COVID in China has changed drastically. The term for COVID is now being tapered down from the novel Coronavirus pneumonia to the novel coronavirus infection, drawing comparisons closer to that of the flu and the common cold. For example, the Beijing Education Bureau's Vice Secretary, Lee E. said in a press conference when asked what high school students should do in their holiday break, “spend their holiday going to museums, being together with friends, seeing family face-to-face.” A strong contradiction from any lingo used in previous public conferences.

Furthermore, China officially classified COVID-19 as a class B illness. This in effect has allowed the entire country to reopen after three years of major lockdown.

Below is a photo of flight CZ312, China Southern Air’s first out-of-country flight to land in China since March 2020 without a central quarantine. After passengers were huddled by news outlets for interviews, passengers said “(we) only needed to fill in the customs declaration and have our passports checked. It only took fifteen minutes from getting off the plane to pick up our luggage.”

Effectively as of January 8th, the major traveling restrictions have been dropped. Lines outside of the local immigration bureaus in Shanghai swarmed immediately, filled with citizens eager to renew their passports for travel. On the first day of reopening, there were over 300,000 travel bookings made from Hong Kong to the mainland. Chinese travel booking sites observed a 62% increase in HK to mainland bookings, a 628% increase year on year in international flight bookings, and an 850% daily increase in online flight searches.

Through a sweeping change of governance, families and friends all over China find themselves reunited with their loved ones. Airports all over China were swarmed with families embracing for the first time in far too long.

Overseas Education Implications.

An important decision as the 2023 cycle of education outreach begins is whether or not to include China in your campaign. With reopening guidelines in China getting more lenient due to the dropped restrictions, it is expected to be a strong cycle for the recruitment of Chinese international students. As seen by the dramatic change in travel demand, the incentive to seek study abroad experiences is stimulated by a lack of ability to do so over the last three years.

Furthermore, in the pre-pandemic age of international outreach campaigns, China had been a prime target for most marketing programs. This meant the competition in most tiers of China was a well-saturated market. Ever since the pandemic, this has diminished drastically. Several large agencies that had previously occupied a large portion of the foreign market in China have ceased operations entirely. As the borders reopen, the demand for student outreach in China has returned, with a thirst for travel and abroad experiences at the forefront of most people’s to-do lists.

Investing in China as a part of your 2023 marketing outreach would be entering a smaller pool of competition. Large-scale gatherings are back in full force as soon as February, which means that China will be open to large events by the time many of you are reading this sentence. Holding a student reception in China would put your institution in the minority of outreach campaigns, standing out to a large market that has yet to be scooped up. Babson College, Columbia University, and Fitzwilliam College have already scheduled events with more to follow suit as conditions continue to improve.

Spring and Fall Tours

Sunrise will be focussing on tier two and tier three cities in China for outreach tours. We anticipate China to be suitable for marketing outreach in 2023, but the lower-tier cities are being directly overlooked by larger institutions, with the majority of those that look to China going only to the major tier-one cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc.). The lower tier regions are still looking for access to abroad education opportunities with strong demand and very little supply. Students have been deprived of in-person visits and live events from University admissions officers for three years. Students are deprived of interaction with college representatives and would highly value institutions that take an interest in pursuing those lower-tier cities.

Information for our 2023 Spring Tour

Some Tips for the Year of the Rabbit

As is with any new year and especially one that encompasses a market that has been effectively closed for years, there are some considerations to take hold. The overall economy in China has seen better days, and expected volatility is certain to take place throughout 2023. That being said, there will still be a heavy demand for prospective students in China that want to pursue education opportunities abroad. Our recommendation would be to take a gentler approach to any outreach to China. Whereas international students have always been a source of full tuition-paying individuals, it would be advised for outreach campaigns to mention the different payment plans and financing options that are available at your institution. Be prepared for the next 12 to 18 months to talk about employment opportunities and ROI advantages of studying overseas, highlighting how going to school abroad is a financial investment. Take time to demonstrate a genuine interest in the bright young minds that are seeking a home at your respective institution for the next odd some years, we’re quite certain it will make a huge difference.

Some Parting Thoughts for the Year

Sunrise is here to help with all of your recruitment needs. Reach out to a member of our team today to strategize your recruitment outreach for the 2023 year. Sunrise International offers a variety of tech tools that your institution can take advantage of. Utilizing AR and VR technology, Sunrise has helped clients all over the world increase their outreach to prospective students seeking education opportunities.

Additionally, with international students unable to make in-person tours at your respective campus, a virtual tour in a post-pandemic world is oftentimes a decision-maker. Check out some of our virtual tours, and let us know how Sunrise can help you!

Thank you again to our live viewers for tuning in, and for those that missed the event you can still catch a recording of the broadcast here.

More about Sunrise International…

Sunrise International is a Beijing-based full-service media production studio and education company that is flexible and attuned to your needs, we are experts at providing cross-border digital services whether it is a short promotional campaign or a comprehensive marketing solution, Sunrise has the experience and network to help deliver your message to Chinese students, parents, and schools.

Webinar Recap: What China's Reopening Means for Overseas Education