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Yes, I’m in basically that situation, although I’ve just started sending off documents for the work permit.

From the newsletter Chinese Embassy in UK released on March 15:
1)Foreign nationals and their family members visiting the mainland of China for necessary business activities in various fields need only to provide the documents as were required before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic when applying for a visa. It is no longer needed to provide the Invitation Letter (PU), Invitation Letter (TE) or Verification Letter of Invitation issued by the foreign affairs offices or the departments of commerce of the provincial (including autonomous regions and municipalities) governments.
2)The scope of applicants eligible for applying for a visa out of emergency humanitarian needs will be expanded. Foreign family members of Chinese citizens or permanent residents of China, including spouse, parents, children and other close relatives living together (referring to siblings, grandparents and grandchildren), may submit visa applications for the purposes of reuniting with family, taking care of the elderly, visiting relatives, attending funerals or visiting critically ill relatives.
3)Holders of valid APEC business travel cards may apply for the M-visa by presenting the original valid APEC business travel card and the invitation letter issued by the inviting party in the mainland of China.
4)Non-Chinese national holding valid Chinese residence permits ofr work, personal maters and reunion will no longer be affected for entry in China.
5)Please be noted that the above-mentioned visa facilitation applies only to applicants who have been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines produced in China, having either received two doses of Chinese-made vaccines with the stipulated gap in between, or received a single-dose Chinese-made vaccine at least 14 days prior to the application, and obtained the vaccination certificate.
6)The requirement that personnel intending to travel to China need to present double-negative certificate of nucleic acid and antibody (IgM) tests remains unchanged. The relevant Chinese quarantine policies shall be observed after entering China.

Thanks but I heard the rules change all the time. It's almost mid April now so I presumed the Chinese will change its rules again, no?

Currently this is the latest info we have, policies in difference countries may vary, please do check with your local Chinese consulates.

I'm currently on the long tortuous road of applying for my z-visa.  I am having to obtain the invitation letter and all the rest.  No idea how long it will take or indeed if I will get my visa.  Fingers crossed for us all!

Yep,  I've been waiting since last year January.   I've undergone the whole authentification process twice already,  only for the situation to change again.

After starting the process in November 2020, I received my work permit notification letter end of February 2021. It was quite a lengthy process to collect all necessary documents and also not easy for my company to apply. However I still need the PU Letter for visa application. That took another 7 weeks. Finally I applied for the visa last week...

Congratulations!  Is that the last step in the process?  Do you know how long that will take?

Normally issuing the visa can be done in just a few days. However my home country is still on Lockdown. Therefor the visa center only opens once a week and you have to request an appointment via E-Mail... so probably about 2 weeks from now.

Reaching China and having overcome all the quarantine steps and testing marathon, the visa has to be converted into the Residence Permit. But this should then be normal routine...

JohnnyWayne wrote:

From the newsletter Chinese Embassy in UK released on March 15:
1)Foreign nationals and their family members visiting the mainland of China for necessary business activities in various fields need only to provide the documents as were required before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic when applying for a visa. It is no longer needed to provide the Invitation Letter (PU), Invitation Letter (TE) or Verification Letter of Invitation issued by the foreign affairs offices or the departments of commerce of the provincial (including autonomous regions and municipalities) governments.
2)The scope of applicants eligible for applying for a visa out of emergency humanitarian needs will be expanded. Foreign family members of Chinese citizens or permanent residents of China, including spouse, parents, children and other close relatives living together (referring to siblings, grandparents and grandchildren), may submit visa applications for the purposes of reuniting with family, taking care of the elderly, visiting relatives, attending funerals or visiting critically ill relatives.
3)Holders of valid APEC business travel cards may apply for the M-visa by presenting the original valid APEC business travel card and the invitation letter issued by the inviting party in the mainland of China.
4)Non-Chinese national holding valid Chinese residence permits ofr work, personal maters and reunion will no longer be affected for entry in China.
5)Please be noted that the above-mentioned visa facilitation applies only to applicants who have been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines produced in China, having either received two doses of Chinese-made vaccines with the stipulated gap in between, or received a single-dose Chinese-made vaccine at least 14 days prior to the application, and obtained the vaccination certificate.
6)The requirement that personnel intending to travel to China need to present double-negative certificate of nucleic acid and antibody (IgM) tests remains unchanged. The relevant Chinese quarantine policies shall be observed after entering China.

The most important here:

Please be noted that the above-mentioned visa facilitation applies only to applicants who have been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines produced in China, having either received two doses of Chinese-made vaccines with the stipulated gap in between, or received a single-dose Chinese-made vaccine at least 14 days prior to the application, and obtained the vaccination certificate.

Good luck!  I'm only at the post-documents being notarised stage, so I'm a long way behind you!  Are you UK based now?  The Embassy here is only opening one day a week.

I am based in Germany. But probably the process does not differ much. I recommend that you ask your company in China to apply for Work Permit and PU Letter at the same time (maybe it is possible). Because the Work Permit Notification Letter is only valid for 3 months and I don't know if it is needed after entering China. Mine will expire on 24th of May...

Wish you all the best!

work permit has a validity? I need to get the work permit before applying for the Z visa right? I know the hassle of applying for both in this pandemic times but can anyone advise me what are the validity of a work permit(if I get them) and the Z visa( also if I can get them but I know gonna be tedious and laborious)

Sorry for the misunderstanding, I will tell you from my experience.

After I collected all my certificates in my home country (degree, non-criminal record...) and have sent them to my company in China, they submitted them to the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) for work permit application. If the application is successful, you get the Work Permit Notification Letter that I was talking about. It looks like this and is valid for 3 months. However this alone does not allow you to work in China. You need the visa first.

Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, for visa application, it is furthermore required to have the PU Invitation Letter. Your company will apply for you at the local Foreign Affairs Office (FAO). The PU Letter should state "Work" as purpose of visit (i.e. I got an PU Letter which stated "Trade" as purpose of visit, hence I can only apply for M visa but this is another problem... )

Take both letters to the consulate in your home country and apply for Z-Visa (ask your nearby consulate or visa center about the application process).

The Z-Visa then is valid for I think 30 days. After entering China you have to register at a local police station and get the temporary Residence Permit. This then you can convert into your "real" Work Permit and subsequently into your permanent Residence Permit. However I am also not there yet and don't know all the documents that are needed.

Thanks. Is the PU letter still valid? I heard it has been exchanged with a Sinovac inoculation which lessens the hassle of a Z visa. I think this is rather political than anything else.

That's right. Like stated in post #3 from JohnnyWayne. Do you have a chance to get a Chinese vaccination in your home country? At least here in Europe it is not easy to get...