Chinese officials affirm the effectiveness of visa-free policy

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stressed that the ministry will continue to adjust visa policies to facilitate and provide more support for cross-border travel.

China has launched a pilot program to unilaterally exempt visas for ordinary passport holders from six countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. Specifically, from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, ordinary passport holders from the above countries will not need a visa when entering China for business, tourism, or visiting relatives if their stay does not exceed 15 days. Those who do not meet the visa exemption requirements will still need to apply for a visa before entering the country. The pilot program aims to promote people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries, serving the country's policy of opening up and high-quality development. Previously, China also expanded the visa-free transit policy for Norwegian citizens, thereby bringing the total number of countries subject to this policy to 54.

Statistics show that since the policy took effect on December 1, about 7,000 of the 18,000 visitors to the country were citizens of the six countries that have just been granted visa exemptions. The average number of daily visitors from the six countries also increased by 39% in the first three days of December, compared to November 30.