At the beginning of April, Belgian tourists who took advantage of the visa-free policy to travel to China tasted snacks in Houhai, Beijing. Photo by Van Chan Worm

According to the latest data released by China's ** Immigration Administration on April 18, in the first quarter of this year, the number of foreigners coming to China increased by more than three times compared with the same period in 2023, with a total of 466,000 foreigner visa documents issued, an increase of 118.8% year-on-year, and 1.988 million visa-free foreigners, an increase of 266.1% year-on-year.

For a period of time, China has continued to introduce a number of visa optimization measures for China, including reducing the content of visa application forms, reducing visa fees in stages, simplifying the approval procedures for studying in China, exempting some applicants' fingerprints, exempting visa-free appointments, and piloting visa-free policies for some applicants, etc., which provide more convenience for foreigners to travel, work, study and live in China, and are widely welcomed by the society. China's visa-free "circle of friends" continues to expand, demonstrating China's confidence in promoting high-level opening-up and strengthening exchanges and cooperation, and the positive effects of the policy continue to emerge.

"Multiple tours to China are being planned"

According to the China** Immigration Administration, on July 26, 2023, China resumed the 15-day visa-free entry policy for Singaporean and Brunei ordinary passports to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit. On December 1, 2023 and March 14, 2024, China implemented a unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from six countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, and six countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. On March 1, 2024, the China-Thailand Visa Exemption Agreement officially came into effect. Up to now, a total of 989,000 foreign nationals from the above 15 countries have entered China without visas, accounting for more than 60% of the total number of relevant ** people coming to China, showing an overall upward trend.

When this reporter met Laszlo, a citizen of Budapest, Hungary, he was consulting a local travel agency for information on traveling to China. "I plan to take my family to China this summer, and I really want to go to Sanya and Zhangjiajie to have a look. Laszlo told reporters that he had wanted to travel to China before, and his enthusiasm was even higher after the introduction of the visa-free policy. Andrea, a staff member of the travel agency, told reporters that more and more customers have come to consult about traveling to China recently, and China has become one of the most popular tourist destinations.

Van Shang Wurm, the head of the Belgian Dawn Travel Agency, has been busy organizing tours to China recently. "After learning that Belgium was granted visa-free treatment, we began to plan our travel plans and itineraries to China in the first time. **The registration for the group was very smooth. "On March 31, 14 tourists from the travel agency took a flight from Brussels to Beijing." Tours to China made full use of the 15-day visa-free period to visit Beijing, Guizhou and Guangxi. Tourists can experience the local customs up close, and feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture and the cityscape. Van Shang Wurm told reporters that after the tour group returns to Belgium, the tour group will also depart soon. In the future, we have a number of tours to China that are being planned, and many Belgians want to visit China for themselves. ”

The implementation of the mutual visa exemption agreement has also increased the willingness of Chinese and Thai tourists to travel. According to Ctrip data, on the day the agreement came into effect, Thai travel orders to China surged threefold year-on-year, an increase of more than 160% compared with 2019. The keyword search popularity in Chinese cities increased by more than three times year-on-year, and increased by more than one percent month-on-month. Thai Prime Minister Saita said that many Thai people choose to travel to China, and the flights are full, which further promotes exchanges between the two countries.

Sheng Weiqiang, deputy general manager of Sichuan China Travel Service Co., Ltd., said that since the beginning of this year, the company has received more than 600 tourists from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, a year-on-year increase of more than 1 times. "They mainly go to Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Mount Emei and other ** scenic spots. The Sichuanxi Line and the Sichuan-Tibet Line are very popular with Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand tourists. Thai tourists are also particularly fond of Sichuan-style hot pot, and we have added food experiences to our itinerary. ”

"Easier access to partners and business networks"

The visa-free policy is widely welcomed by foreign business owners who want to expand into the Chinese market. Veronica Emmenegger, founder of a Swiss aesthetic institution, said: "China is an important market for us and I am very much looking forward to visiting China again on the basis of the visa-free policy to learn about the possibilities of future cooperation. I initially plan to go to Hainan in November to participate in the ** Health Industry Expo. The visa-free policy makes my travel easier. ”

De Witt, chairman of the Belgian China Economic and Trade Committee, told reporters: "I have noticed that China has implemented five measures to facilitate foreign personnel to come to China, actively solved the problems of mobile payment encountered by foreign personnel in China, and is committed to providing foreign friends with a safer, more comfortable and more convenient travel environment, which will further promote personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries." Issane Lakeley, a staff member of the press office of the first airport in Brussels, Belgium, told reporters that in addition to the current direct flights to Beijing and Shenzhen, the direct routes from Brussels to Shanghai will also resume in the near future. This will certainly provide more convenience for Belgian tourists to travel to China. ”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó said a few days ago that China's trial of the visa-free policy is good news for Hungarian tourists and business people going to China. Based on the principle of reciprocity, the Hungarian government issues long-term visas to executives of Chinese enterprises who come to Hungary for investment cooperation. Szijjártó stressed that these measures will further enhance Hungarian-Chinese economic and tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. It is reported that from April, there will be up to 13 flights a week between Budapest and the four cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Ningbo in China.

As of 2023, China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, and the two countries have close economic and trade cooperation. Yan Tianlu, vice president of the Malaysian Chinese Public Relations Association, told reporters: "The visa-free policy provides more opportunities for Malaysian SMEs and entrepreneurs to exchange and cooperate in China, they can participate in various trade exhibitions and negotiation activities more flexibly, and expand partners and business networks more conveniently, so as to promote the diversified development of Malaysia's economy." ”