China announced this Friday that will expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countriesin an effort to boost tourism and business travel in order to help revive a stagnant economy.
Starting November 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan They will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without needing a visa, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
The measure brings the number of countries to 38 who have received visa-free access since last year. Previously, only three countries had visa-free access, but the program was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inclusion of Japan appears to reflect a recent willingness by China to improve relations between the two countries, which have deteriorated in part due to more forceful speech from Tokyo on the Taiwan issue. The two countries reached an agreement in September in their dispute over the release of treated but still radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.
Japan was one of three countries with visa-free entry before the pandemic, and the government had repeatedly requested an early resumption, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo.
“We hope that the visa waiver measure announced by the Chinese side will contribute to further smoothing our exchanges between Japan and China.”he stated.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry has been increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and for the first time, people participating in exchanges will be eligible. China has been boosting people-to-people exchanges, including students, academics and others, to try to improve its sometimes tense relations with other countries.
China strictly restricted entry during the coronavirus pandemic and ended its restrictions long after most other countries. Restored previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and later expanded visa-free entry to six more countries—France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain and Malaysia— December 1 of last year.
The program has expanded in installments since then. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for people with Chinese nationality, notably Thailand, which wants to attract Chinese tourists again.
During the three months from July to September this year, China recorded 8.2 million foreign entries, of which 4.9 million were visa-freereported the official news agency Xinhuamentioning what was said by a consular official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(With information from AP)
