What’s new: China has expanded its visa-free policy to six more European countries on a trial basis, namely Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday.
From March 14 to Nov. 30, ordinary passport holders from these countries will be able to enter China without a visa and stay for up to 15 days, according to a Thursday statement from the China Consular Affairs.
The policy is limited to people traveling for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes, the statement added.
The background: China has been relaxing its visa policies since last year as it tries to boost inbound travel following the pandemic. In November, Beijing announced a one-year visa-free trial for visitors from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia.
China also extended its visa exemption program with Singapore to 30 days beginning in February. This month, it permanently entered a 30-day visa-free travel agreement with Thailand. China has now signed full mutual visa exemption agreements with 23 countries.
China’s inbound tourism industry has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with immigration data indicating the number of entries and exits recorded in 2023 recovered to about 63% of the 2019 level. Ministry of Culture and Tourism data show the number of inbound tourists received by national travel agencies in the first half of last year was less than one-tenth seen in the same period in 2019.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
