China's recent visa-free policy further enhances economic prospects

Editor's note: Ibrahim Khalil Ahasan, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a Bangladesh-based independent columnist and freelance journalist who writes on contemporary international issues. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Reviving China's inbound tourism is a crucial step in establishing a connection with the outside world and changing the favorable view of China among foreigners. In spite of the negative propaganda from the West, China's ongoing constructive actions in this area are promising.

In an effort to streamline "China travel," increase tourism and people-to-people interactions and enhance cross-border business and international exchanges, citizens of nine nations – Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein and South Korea – will be provided visa-free treatment in China for a maximum of 15 days between November 8, 2024, and December 31, 2025, for the purposes of business, tourism, family visits, or transit.

Due to this timely decision, 25 countries now have 15 days of visa-free entry in China, which will further boost related sectors of the travel industry, such as the catering industry, cultural products, transportation and hotel businesses. It will also encourage tourism, tourist retail consumption, business activities and more cross-cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

China consistently prioritizes people-to-people connectivity in fostering constructive bilateral ties with the countries. It is an ideal illustration of China's opening-up strategy, a touching step that enables people to fully grasp China rather than just understand it. China's bold and creative strategy for drawing tourists from outside may also mark a sea change in its attempts to change perceptions and attitudes.

China has improved payment systems all around the country to facilitate international travel. Major international payment processing networks like Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay are now accepted on the Chinese Mainland, and mobile payment applications like WeChat and Alipay make it possible to link foreign credit cards, which makes making international payments much easier.

These policy decisions, such as optimizing instant mobile payment, extending visa-free travel to 25 countries and introducing the 144-hour free transit visa which covers 54 countries and was recently extended to 37 entry points, have helped China's successful tourism campaign. In its most recent effort to support the cruise sector and increase inbound tourism, Beijing announced in May that foreign tourist groups organized by Chinese travel agencies, entering China on cruise ships docked in the ports of 13 designated cities, can now remain for up to 15 days without a visa.

China's visa-free policy is working, as seen by the country's notable growth in international visitors in the third quarter of this year. The visa-free entry facilities allowed 4.88 million foreigners to enter China during that period, representing a remarkable 78.6 percent year-on-year increase.

With the travel and tourism sector expected to contribute a record-breaking 12.62 trillion Chinese yuan to the national economy by the end of 2024, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council's 2024 Economic Impact Research, rising inbound travel will surely be essential to hitting the 5 percent growth goal. Now that nationals from nine more nations may enter the country without a visa, the tourist sector is in a solid position to recover in 2024.

As preparations have been made to allow South Korean citizens' admission to China without a visa, China has expanded its efforts to bolster the people-to-people exchanges between two East Asian neighbors. In order to expedite the recovery of tourism, South Korea, China and Japan have agreed to increase the annual volume of human interchange among the three nations to 40 million people by 2030. This was a significant step in restoring steady development to the relationship between China and South Korea and a significant contribution to East Asian peace through individual exchanges.

The visa-free policy is also a great opportunity to encourage more European visitors to visit China. In addition to promoting tourism, this visa-free program will eventually strengthen the cultural, bilateral commerce, investment and economic relationship between Europe and China. It is a chance to bring people from the two nations closer together.

China is sending a clear message with its progressive introduction of visa-free policies for more European nations and its consistent progress on high-level opening-up. Foreign tourists now flooding China are not only the result of the government's visa-free travel policy, but also of the attraction of China's vibrant and changing cities as well as its beautiful countryside and rural scenery. They can now fully explore rich Chinese cultural heritage sites, famous mountains and rivers, sample local cuisines and experience the beauty of China and its modern development.

China's recent step of the visa-free policy, made before the winter break, highlights China's ongoing opening-up while simultaneously enhancing its position as a major international tourism destination and exploring the potential presented by the snow and winter economy.

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