China pushes for QR codes to help open up international travel

Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed using QR codes to reinvigorate the cross-border movement that has been stifled by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Speaking at the G20 summit on Saturday, a meeting between heads of state from the world’s 20 largest economies, President Xi called for a system that would use internationally-accepted QR codes as a type of digital health certificate to reflect whether a person had tested positive of negative for Covid-19. 

"We need to further harmonise policies and standards and establish ‘fast tracks’ to facilitate the orderly flow of personnel," he said, calling on the G20 to ensure the smooth functioning of the global economy. 

However privacy advocates were quick to express concerns, reflecting global anxieties that coronavirus data collected by the Chinese government could be repurposed. 

"Beware of the Chinese government’s proposal for a global QR code system," said executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth. 

"An initial focus on health could easily become a Trojan Horse for broader political monitoring and exclusion, akin to the dangers associated with China’s social-credit system."

I had to travel earlier this month and this is how my movements were being tracked for the purpose of #COVID19 containment.

Follow @RadiiChina for more videos on #China! #coronavirus #COVID2019 pic.twitter.com/yHzdm7q6HF

— Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) March 16, 2020

Digital health certificates are a recurring idea that have been tested throughout the pandemic. In China, a country that has managed to wrestle its infection rate under control, mobile phone QR codes have been mandatory since February. 

In some regions, a green QR code is required to enter transport hubs, apartment buildings or even certain neighbourhoods. 

However the codes have caused some controversy because it’s unclear how exactly people are calculated to be high or low risk. For people whose QR codes turn red and must stay-home, there are few options to dispute the app’s decision. 

Despite privacy concerns, Qatar, the UAE, Malaysia and Colombia all either use or have tested coronavirus apps that use a Chinese style colour coded QR-code system. 

Coronavirus has ushered the return of the QR code as countries around the world, including The UK, deploy the technology to help people track which shops and restaurants they’ve visited in case they become infected. 

Heathrow Airport is also currently testing an app called CommonPass, which uses QR codes to communicate to airport staff if a person has been tested and cleared to travel. People involved in the trial told The Telegraph the initiative could easily be adapted to track who has and hasn’t been vaccinated. 

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