The UK is expected to announce a requirement for travellers arriving from China to provide a negative pre-departure COVID test.
The move will align the UK with a number of other countries, such as the US, which announced a similar rule in recent days.
Sources said the move was precautionary and temporary, and due to a lack of confidence in China’s vaccine and data.
The defence secretary said earlier this week that the situation was “under review”.
There has been a surge in infections in China after it rowed back some of its notoriously tough coronavirus rules, such as regular PCR testing.
With its border controls also being eased, there are worries it could lead to an increase in global cases.
Officials estimated 250 million people are likely to have contracted the virus in the first 20 days of December, according to leaked notes.
China’s biggest city, Shanghai, last week had 5.43 million positive cases among its 25 million residents.
The true number may be significantly higher as asymptomatic cases are no longer recorded.
Spain, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the US and India are among countries that have recently brought in new rules on arrivals from China.
On Friday, France’s transport minister said it would also bring in changes from 1 January.
Negative tests will be needed before flying from China, masks must be worn on the plane and tests will be carried out on arrival in France.
The European Union’s health agency has said the introduction of mandatory COVID screenings of travellers from China is “unjustified”.
UK health minister Will Quince previously said the “key threat” was the potential for new variants, but some experts believe travel restrictions are unlikely to be effective in such a scenario.
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China has rejected criticism of its COVID data and said it expects future mutations to be potentially more transmissible but less severe.
The country’s own requirement for international travellers to quarantine is ending on 8 January. It’s thought to be no longer effective given the high number of infections now circulating within the country.
However, travellers will still need to show a negative test before flying.
China’s loosening of the rules followed a rare wave of protests that appeared to surprise its leaders.
There are fears the increase in cases could lead to many deaths in China because of the relatively low percentage of elderly and vulnerable people who are fully vaccinated.