China, which claims Taiwan as its own despite strong objections of the democratic island, has been ramping up pressure on Taiwan to assert its sovereignty claims, including almost daily Chinese air force missions near the island over the past three years.

The joint statement, which contained 14 agreements aimed at cooling security tensions and boosting economic cooperation, comes as both sides strive to mend a relationship hurt after the Philippines sought a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea.

Aid groups say they have been "pushed against a wall" by the Taliban prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs, a ban that has left a dangerous gap in life-saving support.

"It is extremely disappointing to see this knee-jerk reinstatement of measures that have proven ineffective over the last three years," said IATA director general Willie Walsh.

MRTV said prisoners convicted of murder and rape, or jailed for charges related to explosives, unlawful association, weapons, drugs and corruption, would not be released. 

New Zealand's COVID-19 minister, Ayesha Verrall, said in a statement that a public health risk assessment had concluded visitors from China would not contribute significantly to the number of cases in the country.

Australia's government on Wednesday criticized Beijing's lack of COVID-19 transparency, after overruling its chief medical officer and ramping up testing for travelers from China. 

Myanmar troops and weaponry paraded through the military-built capital Naypyidaw to mark the country's independence day Wednesday, days after the junta jailed democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi for 33 years.

Speaking ahead of his flight, Marcos said he looked forward to meeting President Xi Jinping and that "the issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as the Philippines and China".

The steep rise in infections came after years of hardline restrictions were abruptly loosened last month with little warning or preparation, and quickly overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums.

Indonesia and the United States have both welcomed the New Year's Eve appointment of former Chinese ambassador to the US Qin Gang as the country's new foreign minister.

Here is a run-down of the countries that have imposed mandatory Covid tests and other rules on arrivals from China:

Japan monitored the operations after the Chinese naval group, which included missile destroyers, sailed between the main Okinawa island and Miyakojima island into the Western Pacific from the East China Sea on Dec. 16, Japan's Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

Blinken said he discussed the US-China relationship and maintaining open lines of communication in his phone call with Qin. 

With Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ascension to power, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur would soon see a “new force” that would likely enhance their relationship, said visiting Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir on Friday.

Wang was replaced as China's foreign minister on Friday by Qin Gang, former ambassador to the United States, but he was widely expected to retain a prominent role in foreign policy after his promotion in October to the Communist Party's Politburo, the country's top decision-making body.

Qin, 56, replaces Wang Yi, who has been foreign minister for the past decade. Wang, 69, was promoted to the politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in October and is expected to play a bigger role in Chinese foreign policy. 

Three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Beijing this month began ditching its hardline containment policy known as "zero-Covid". 

Last month, Beijing abruptly began dismantling its "zero-Covid" containment policy of lockdowns and mass testing, three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the city of Wuhan.

The world's eight billion people on Saturday prepared to usher in 2023 and farewell a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises and Lionel Messi's world cup glory.

The close encounter followed what the United States has called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

Chinese state-media said COVID testing requirements imposed by several places around the world in response to a surging wave of infections were "discriminatory", in the clearest pushback yet against restrictions that are slowing down its re-opening.

An explosion of COVID-19 cases in China as the country lifts its zero-COVID measures could create a "potential breeding ground" for new variants to emerge, health experts warn.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has commended Indonesia for rescuing hundreds of Rohingya refugees who were stranded at sea for weeks and called on other nations in the region to do their part to address the fresh boat crisis.

China late Monday scrapped quarantine for inbound travellers from January 8 onwards, dismantling the last remaining piece of its stringent zero-Covid policy and ending some of the world's harshest border restrictions.

Nearly 500 Rohingya have reached Indonesia in the past six weeks while "many others did not act despite numerous pleas and appeals for help", the UNHCR said in a statement.

Chinese hospitals were under intense pressure on Wednesday as a surge of COVID-19 infections strained resources in the last major country to move towards treating the virus as endemic.

Tokyo has eased its restrictions on tourists in recent months and the move means travellers from China will be the only visitors required to take COVID-19 tests on arrival, other than those who are displaying symptoms.

In a snap move late Monday, China said from January 8 inbound travellers would no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival, in a further unwinding of hardline COVID-19 controls that had torpedoed its economy and sparked nationwide protests.

Nearly 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar are living in crowded facilities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, including tens of thousands who fled their home country after its military conducted a deadly crackdown in 2017.