China forecasts average of 2 mln border crossings during upcoming holiday

China is expected to record an average of 2 million daily border crossings during the upcoming eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday starting Wednesday, immigration authorities said Sunday.

According to the National Immigration Administration (NIA), this year’s holidays, together with favorable policies such as visa-free entry and the resumption of flights, have fueled robust demand for cross-border travel.

The NIA noted that ports nationwide are bracing for a surge in inbound and outbound trips between October 1 and October 8, with traffic peaks projected on October 1 and October 6.

For now, airports in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou City in south China’s Guangdong Province have already seen a surge in passenger volume.

Beijing’s two airport ports are estimated to handle over 500,000 inbound and outbound passengers in the upcoming holiday, with the Capital International Airport seeing a daily average of 46,000 passengers, an 18-percent increase year on year, and the Daxing International Airport expecting an average of 18,000 passengers per day, up 28 percent year on year.

The number of inbound and outbound travelers via airport ports in Shanghai is projected to reach 883,000. As more foreign travelers would like to come to China, the average daily number of inbound foreign tourists at Pudong International Airport hit 16,600, marking a year-on-year increase of 46.9 percent.

“In terms of outbound travel, passengers from the Chinese mainland make up the majority at Pudong International Airport, with short-distance journeys mainly focusing on traditional destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Meanwhile, a 12-day longer holiday, which includes three days of annual leave, has boosted the recovery of long-haul travel. In this regard, there has been a significant increase in the number of tourists to Australia and European countries,” said Li Ling, a customs officer of Shanghai Airport border inspection point.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has also been experiencing a surge in passenger traffic lately. It is expected to see over 400,000 border crossings during the holiday, a 15-percent increase over last year.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it considers the action taken by France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, and the United States, to reinstate the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanction resolutions on Iran as “illegal and unjustified.”

The ministry made the announcement in a statement, hours after UN sanctions against Iran came back into force 10 years after having been lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between the country and world powers.

It said that Iran “rejects the claim by the three European countries and the United States about the reinstatement of the previous resolutions that have been terminated under Resolution 2231 (that endorses the JCPOA) in 2015, and stresses that no obligation arises for UN members, including Iran, from the annulled resolutions’ provisions and mechanisms.”

The statement called on all countries to refrain from recognizing the “illegal situation, which is in contradiction with UNSC Resolution 2231,” accusing the E3 and the United States of “abusing” the dispute resolution mechanism of the JCPOA and Resolution 2231.

According to the statement, Iran will firmly defend its rights and national interests, and any move aimed at harming those interests “will be met with an appropriate and resolute response.”

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the invocation of the “snapback” mechanism to reinstate the UN sanctions was a “clear abuse of process,” according to the ministry.

Last month, the E3 formally invoked the snapback mechanism, which allowed for the re-imposition of UN sanctions within 30 days if Iran was deemed in breach of the JCPOA.

On September 19, the UNSC failed to adopt a resolution that would have extended sanctions relief for Iran under the JCPOA. A subsequent resolution, which sought to grant a six-month extension to both the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, also failed to pass in the UNSC on Friday. The sanctions were re-imposed on Saturday evening.