The number of Ugandans looking to visit China has increased in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there has been a slight increase in the number of Ugandans applying for Chinese visas, despite an initial scare. This information was put out by the Chinese ambassador to Uganda.

As seen in a report by The Monitor, Uganda adopted a strict policy, preventing its citizens from flying to China in 2020, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

But thanks to a plan the Chinese government implemented to stop the virus’s spread, international trust in the nation was restored—including Uganda’s—and as as a result, more individuals were eager to travel to China.

“We are seeing an increasing number of people coming to China,” Zhang Lizhong stated. “Before Covid, over 40,000 Ugandans were visiting China annually, and last year we saw a recovery, the embassy has received 12,000 applicants,” he added.

He also explained that there might be a discrepancy in the number of people applying versus the number of people visiting the country.

“Some of them may have multiple entries and the actual number of people going to China is larger than the application in the embassy,” the ambassador said.

A new application centre, according to officials is set to meet the increasing number of Ugandan applicants, looking to get a Chinese visa.

“It is the only entity entrusted by the embassy to provide services related to Chinese ordinary visas and consular legislation applications. it is operated independently and responsible for its profits and losses, which is not an extension of the embassy,” Lizhong said.