China allows visa-free entry to citizens of 6 countries from December 1
By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Nov 25, 2023, 2:37 PM ISTFrom December 1, citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia will be allowed to enter China without a visa for 15 days. The testing program will remain in effect for one year.
China announced it will allow visa-free entry to citizens of five European countries and Malaysia as it tries to encourage more people to travel for business and tourism. From December 1, citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia will be allowed to enter China without a visa for 15 days. However, this testing program will remain in effect for one year.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a daily briefing said that the aim is “to facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world”.
For over three years, many individuals were deterred from travelling by China's stringent pandemic regulations, which included mandatory quarantine for all newcomers. However, these restrictions were lifted earlier this year, but to their disappointment, the international travel has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
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Japanese, Singaporean and Bruneians were allowed to enter China without a visa but the programme was suspended after the COVID-19 outbreak. It resumed visa-free entry for Brunei and Singapore in July but has not done so for Japan.
In the first six months of the year, China recorded 8.4 million entries and exits by foreigners, according to immigration statistics. That compares to 977 million for all of 2019, the last year before the pandemic, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The Chinese government has been seeking foreign investment to help boost a sluggish economy, and some businesspeople have been coming for trade fairs and meetings, including Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Foreign tourists are still a rare sight compared to before the pandemic.
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