China Offers Visa-Free Entry to Nine More Countries
People walk around Zhouzhuang Water Town, Suzhou, China.
Published November 16, 2024
China announced it will extend visa-free entry to nine more countries starting on November 8. Passport holders from Slovakia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and South Korea are allowed to visit for business or leisure, for up to 15 days visa free. This policy will be active until December 31, 2025.
With this addition, China now offers 27 countries visa waivers, including 24 European nations. China attempts to expand its tourism after the sector took a hit from the pandemic. 8.2 million foreigners visited China in the third quarter of 2024, a 49% increase from 2023.
Previously, China demanded personal information, including job information and educational information, for visas. As the country shifts to making tourism easier, including allowing tourist attractions to accept foreign cards and cash, its economy has grown. According to China’s National Immigration Administration, visitors have contributed nearly 100 yuan or 140 million US dollars to local businesses in 2023.
“As of October 31, Beijing General Station of Immigration Inspection has handled border inspection procedures for more than 15.3 million people, including more than 2.02 million inbound foreigners, up 142% year on year – showing an overall upward trend." an instructor at the Beijing General Station of Immigration inspection said.
The announcement came shortly after President Xi Jinping met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing, discussing Slovakia’s interest in joining the Friend of Peace initiative, led by China and Brazil, that aims to resolve tensions in Ukraine through political dialogue.
A few days ago, the European Union declared a tariff on electric vehicles made in China, which was opposed by Slovakia and four other countries. Xi stressed the relational importance between China and the European Union (EU).
“China-EU relations should demonstrate due maturity and stability,” Xi said. “[EU institutions] should adopt a positive and pragmatic approach, properly manage differences, and refrain from politicising economic and trade issues.”
Meanwhile, South Korea comes off as a surprising country on the list, according to the South Korean Embassy in Beijing. Some believe this to be a method to ease anti-Chinese tensions in Korea after the recent arrest of a Korean engineer living in Hefei, Chinaon espionage charges.
In addition, China has maintained a “soft ban” on Korean pop culture and movies since 2016. However, restrictions on some games and movies were lifted as China’s influence on the peninsula dwindles, according to foreign media outlets.
Another China’ neighbor also wants to take advantage of China’s policy. The Japan Association of Corporate Executive called for a visa exemption for short term Japanese visitors. Japan, China and South Korea hope to increase travel between countries to 30 million travelers by 2025 and 40 million by 2030.
As tensions rise between China and Taiwan and North Korea’s increasing cooperation with Russia, China hopes to foster a more open relationship with influential groups including the EU and its Asian neighbors.