China will extend its visa-free entry policy for 45 countries, including Australia, France, Germany and Sweden, to December 31, 2026.
The policy will be effective on November 10, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
The extension covers 32 European countries as well as several nations in South America and the Gulf region, a statement released by the foreign ministry’s consular affairs department showed.
The policy was scheduled to expire at the end of this year for many countries.
Bid to boost tourism
China has offered visa-free entry to citizens from dozens of countries in recent years as part of efforts to woo foreign visitors, revive a tourism sector battered by years of strict COVID-19 controls, and boost foreign engagement.
The United States, Canada and Britain are not part of the scheme.
Under it, visitors from eligible countries can enter China for business, tourism, family visits or transit for up to 30 days without a visa.
Travel companies are bracing for a bigger influx in anticipation of summer holiday-makers coming to China. (AP: Andy Wong)
China is also expanding its outreach to the European Union, a key trading partner, at a time of fraught trade ties.
Beijing confirmed that its one-year suspension of expanded rare earth export controls, announced after a meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in South Korea last week, would also apply to the EU, the bloc said after officials met in Brussels last week to alleviate tensions.
The two sides agreed to continue communication and exchanges to promote the stability and smooth operation of China-EU industrial and supply chains, Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Monday.
More than 20 million foreign visitors entered without a visa in 2024 — almost one-third of the total and more than double from the previous year, according to the National Immigration Administration.
While most tourist sites are still packed with far more domestic tourists than foreigners, travel companies and tour guides are now bracing for a bigger influx in anticipation of summer holiday-makers coming to China.
Trip.com Group, a Shanghai-based online travel agency, said the visa-free policy had significantly boosted tourism.
Air, hotel and other bookings on their website for travel to China doubled in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year, with 75 per cent of the visitors from visa-free regions.
ABC/Reuters