At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) daily press conference in Beijing on March 6, spokesperson Mao Ning devoted several minutes to the predicament of Chinese nationals caught up in the widening Middle-East conflict. According to Mao, nearly 300 citizens were flown safely from Dubai to Guangzhou late on the night of March 4 on a charter arranged with a foreign carrier. Four Chinese airlines — Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Hainan Airlines — have since obtained over-flight approvals and began restoring round-trip services to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia from March 5. Schedules are being updated “day by day” as airspace restrictions evolve, she said.
![China ramps up emergency response, schedules extra flights to bring home citizens stranded by Middle-East conflict]()
For travelers needing to adjust itineraries or secure the correct entry paperwork at short notice, services such as VisaHQ can streamline the process. The company’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/china/) tracks the latest consular advisories and can arrange Chinese visas or travel documents in coordination with current MFA guidance, giving corporate mobility managers and individual passengers an extra layer of certainty amid fast-changing requirements.
The MFA’s consular-protection centre has activated a Level-II emergency mechanism, coordinating with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and local embassies to map the whereabouts of more than 6,000 short-term travellers and project personnel across the Gulf. Carriers have been told they may apply for ad-hoc freighter or passenger flights so long as crews avoid hostile airspace and carry enhanced insurance cover. Ground-handling slots at Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu have been prioritised for possible large-scale repatriations, Mao added. Travel agencies have been instructed to suspend new outbound group tours to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia until further notice, while insurers must waive cancellation penalties for travellers holding policies issued on or before February 25. Companies with staff on assignment in the region are urged to “update contingency plans and consider staggered evacuation,” Mao said. The National Immigration Administration has opened a green channel for emergency travel-document issuance at 38 ports of entry. Speaking more broadly, Mao warned that the security situation remains “complex and severe” and advised Chinese citizens to defer all non-essential travel to the conflict zone. She reminded passengers already in affected countries to register with the nearest embassy, monitor flight information closely and depart “at the first viable opportunity.” The 24-hour consular hotline 12308 has surged staffing to handle expected call volumes. The swift mobilisation highlights how China’s post-pandemic global mobility apparatus — from airlines and immigration controls to consular networks — is now being stress-tested by geopolitical shocks rather than health crises. Multinational firms with China-bound travellers should expect short-notice schedule changes, additional security vetting on arrival and possible quarantine-style staging areas if large-scale airlifts materialise.
For travelers needing to adjust itineraries or secure the correct entry paperwork at short notice, services such as VisaHQ can streamline the process. The company’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/china/) tracks the latest consular advisories and can arrange Chinese visas or travel documents in coordination with current MFA guidance, giving corporate mobility managers and individual passengers an extra layer of certainty amid fast-changing requirements.
The MFA’s consular-protection centre has activated a Level-II emergency mechanism, coordinating with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and local embassies to map the whereabouts of more than 6,000 short-term travellers and project personnel across the Gulf. Carriers have been told they may apply for ad-hoc freighter or passenger flights so long as crews avoid hostile airspace and carry enhanced insurance cover. Ground-handling slots at Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu have been prioritised for possible large-scale repatriations, Mao added. Travel agencies have been instructed to suspend new outbound group tours to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia until further notice, while insurers must waive cancellation penalties for travellers holding policies issued on or before February 25. Companies with staff on assignment in the region are urged to “update contingency plans and consider staggered evacuation,” Mao said. The National Immigration Administration has opened a green channel for emergency travel-document issuance at 38 ports of entry. Speaking more broadly, Mao warned that the security situation remains “complex and severe” and advised Chinese citizens to defer all non-essential travel to the conflict zone. She reminded passengers already in affected countries to register with the nearest embassy, monitor flight information closely and depart “at the first viable opportunity.” The 24-hour consular hotline 12308 has surged staffing to handle expected call volumes. The swift mobilisation highlights how China’s post-pandemic global mobility apparatus — from airlines and immigration controls to consular networks — is now being stress-tested by geopolitical shocks rather than health crises. Multinational firms with China-bound travellers should expect short-notice schedule changes, additional security vetting on arrival and possible quarantine-style staging areas if large-scale airlifts materialise.
