The Global Times, an English language state run paper in China has announced that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is preparing to allow domestic and foreign passenger airlines to apply for “green channels” for chartered flights to mainland China.

Individuals entering Shanghai can resume work subject to negative COVID-19 test results and certain conditions explained below. 

1. The company (foreign or Chinese) has to apply for the channel.
2. The authorities will examine the application, and if the employee is deemed to be essential to business operations, it will forward the application to the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) and notify the company.
3. The FAO will review the application and issue a visa notification to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the relevant Chinese embassy or consulate in the country where the employee is located.
4. With the visa, the employee will be able to board a commercial flight or a chartered flight to China.
5. When the plane arrives in Shanghai, Customs officials will board it to screen passengers. After the passengers disembark, a nucleic acid test (NAT) will be carried out at the airport.  The employee will be taken to a designated facility to wait for the results of the test, which can take up to one day.
6. If the NAT result is positive, the employee will be taken to hospital for treatment. If the NAT is negative, the employee will be subject to a fourteen-day quarantine at the designated facility, the cost for which will be borne by the company or the individual.

The countries which have been approved for these chartered flights are as follows:  

Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdom