China is taking a fresh step to promote post-pandemic tourism by temporarily waiving the requirement for visas for nationals of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia to enter the world’s second-largest economy.
A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry announced today that people of those nations will not require a visa to enter China for up to 15 days of transit or for business, tourism, sightseeing, visiting family, or visiting friends between December 1 of this year and November 30, 2024.
After imposing draconian Covid-19 regulations that effectively closed its borders to the outside world for three years, China has been taking moves in the past few months to boost its tourism industry, including the reinstatement of international flight lines.
Beijing is also attempting to restore its reputation internationally after running afoul of several Western countries, particularly some in Europe, over problems ranging from trade practices and Taiwan to Covid-19 and human rights. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey conducted in 24 nations, the majority of adults (67%) had unfavorable opinions about China.
More than half of the respondents claimed that China ignored other people’s interests and meddled in other countries’ internal issues. Norway’s nationals are now able to travel to 54 countries without a visa, thanks to a policy that China extended earlier this month. Beijing eliminated the Covid-19 test requirement for all incoming travelers in August. In July, it also brought back the 15-day visa-free entrance for Bruneian and Singaporean nationals.
Even though they are rebounding more slowly than domestic flights, international travel is becoming more frequent.
According to China’s aviation regulations, which were released in October, there will be 16,680 weekly flights in the next five months, with passenger flights accounting for 71% of the total four years ago.