Covid-19: China pushes for QR code based global travel system

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a “global mechanism” that would use QR codes to open up international travel.

“We need to further harmonise policies and standards and establish ‘fast tracks’ to facilitate the orderly flow of people,” he said.

The codes will be used to help establish a traveller’s health status.

But Human Rights advocates warn that the codes could be used for “broader political monitoring and exclusion”.

Mr Xi made the comments at the G20 summit, an online meeting of heads of state from the world’s 20 largest economies, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia over the weekend.