China to grant visa-free entry to citizens of more countries

BEIJING -- China will soon grant visa-free entry to citizens of Japan and eight other countries as part of its ongoing efforts to boost international tourism and business travel, authorities announced Friday.

From Nov. 30, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2025, trial visa exemption will be applied to ordinary passport holders from Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan. The duration of visa-free stays allowed will be doubled to 30 days, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

The addition will expand the coverage of China's unilateral visa-free policy from 29 to 38 countries.

This latest move aims to facilitate inbound travel. It builds upon the introduction of the unilateral visa-free policy last December, further demonstrating China's commitment to opening up following the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Dec. 1, 2023, China began implementing unilateral visa-free entry trials for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. The policies were later expanded several times to more countries.

Shortly after the announcement on Friday, Trip.com's international platforms witnessed a surge of interest in Chinese cities, with searches rising by 65 percent on its European site and 112 percent on its Japanese site within 30 minutes. Interest in direct flights from various cities in Japan to China also saw a notable spike.

"I will visit right away. Authentic Chinese cuisine is truly wonderful, and I'm also looking forward to meeting my friend after a long time," said a Japanese netizen on Yahoo, who also expressed the desire to gather information for future investments.

After the announcement, seats of flights for a twin-city tour in China's Ningbo and Xi'an, launched by the Japanese branch of the Shanghai-based Spring Tour travel agency, were quickly snapped up. The branch's hotline was flooded with inquiries from Japanese tourists, prompting the agency to coordinate additional flight seats to meet the rising demand.

Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Spring Tour, said the company plans to leverage resources further and launch more diversified products tailored to foreign tourists of different age groups.

The ease of visa policies has shown remarkable results. According to China's National Immigration Administration, in the first three quarters of this year, China received approximately 94.63 million inbound trips, up by 78.8 percent year-on-year.

The policies also facilitated a trendy "China Travel" keyword on major online platforms like TikTok, X and YouTube, as foreign visitors flock to China to experience the country's delicious food, attractive views, world-leading infrastructure, heartwarming people and free atmospheres, seeing a real China that is different from what they learnt about from Western media.

International businesspeople have found it easier to conduct business in China. From January to September this year, 42,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, marking an 11.4 percent year-on-year increase, according to data from the foreign ministry.

Foreign nationals can now benefit from simplified procedures and reduced fees, as well as faster border entry services, which makes traveling to China even more appealing.

China has implemented measures to make it more convenient for foreigners to visit, work, and live in the country, ranging from currency exchanges and e-payment to hotel check-ins, among others.

In Beijing, a city services guide has been launched for first-time foreign arrivals, offering information on a wide range of areas, such as healthcare and transportation.

In Shanghai, foreign visitors can conveniently pay for taxis and subway rides using international credit cards.

In the first eight months of this year, Shanghai received more than 4.02 million inbound tourists, a 110-percent increase over the same period last year. Among them were 2.9 million foreign tourists, 140 percent more than the same period last year.

"We welcome more foreign friends to visit China frequently to explore its beauty, and we will create more favorable conditions for their visits," said Tong Xuejun, head of the foreign ministry's consular department, at a press briefing on Friday morning.