BEIJING: As the flight from the Netherlands smoothly touched down at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport in east China’s Fujian Province on Thursday, several foreign passengers on board became the first group to benefit from China’s new visa-free policy.
China extended its visa-free policy to six more countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, starting on Thursday. Citizens with ordinary passports from the six European countries are allowed to stay in China for business, sightseeing, visiting families and friends as well as transit for no more than 15 days between the period of March 14, 2024, to November 30, 2024.
Upon transferring from the Netherlands, some foreign travelers from countries such as Switzerland and Ireland only needed to present their passports and arrival cards at the immigration inspection hall. Their visas didn’t have to be checked. The procedure for clearing customs was completed within three minutes after they passed through border control smoothly.
Robert, a Dutch passenger on the flight, explained that he frequently visits Xiamen for business purposes. Compared with the previous requirement to obtain a visa in advance, this time he was able to save about two weeks of waiting time, which he found extremely convenient
Since the China-Thailand reciprocal visa-free agreement went into effect on March 1, China’s visa-free countries have been expanded yet again.
A video screenshot of a flight with international passengers arriving at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport, China, March 14. /CMG
Growing pace of openness
Having shuttled between China and Europe for over 25 years and now engaging in economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, a Belgian businessman finds the new visa-free policy ideal for his travel needs.
“I believe the visa-free policy is an excellent opportunity for Europeans,” he said. “It is a perfect example of China’s open-up policy, a heartwarming measure that helps people go beyond understanding China to truly comprehending it.”
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defense, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of the Luxembourg Government also highly welcomes China’s new visa-free policy.
Upon receiving an interview with China Media Group, the ministry stated that this facilitation of travel will encourage more Luxembourg citizens to visit China and will help to strengthen people-to-people and trade exchanges between the two countries.
With its steady advancement of high-level opening up as well as the proactive implementation of visa-free policies for six European countries, China is sending a “positive signal,” according to Huo Jianguo, the vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies.
Investments from Europe in China are substantial, and there is a significant flow of business professionals. With the introduction of the visa-free policy, many convenience issues will be alleviated for these individuals, thereby facilitating further development of bilateral trade and investment between China and Europe, Huo explains.
The MSC Bellissima of MSC Cruises. /CMG
More travelers on their way
The number of inbound tourism bookings to China from the six countries mentioned on Thursday increased nearly twofold compared to the previous year, and about 40 percent compared to the same period in 2019, according to data from Ctrip, an online travel platform. Among them, Switzerland, Belgium and Hungary saw increases of over threefold.
Since China announced its visa-free policy on March 7, the search volume for China-related keywords from these countries has increased steadily. The number of searches for hotel-related keywords has increased by more than triple over the past year, the Ctrip data shows.
Ctrip Group’s general manager of public affairs, Qin Jing, believes that the continued expansion of visa-free access and recent efforts made by various departments in the country to continue optimizing payment services in the country for foreigners will push inbound tourism into the fast lane of recovery.
Chinese tourism is well-accepted in Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and other European countries. As the number of flights is restored, the number of visitors to China is anticipated to increase rapidly, Qin added.
Known as the largest flagship cruise vessel in Asia, the 172,000-gross-tonnage MSC Bellissima, set sail from Shanghai’s Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on Saturday, marking its relaunch of home port operations in Shanghai.
Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises, highlighted the significance of this event in the global cruise industry’s recovery during a celebration ceremony held on Friday. He emphasized that the restart of international cruise operations from China sends a strong signal to the world and expressed appreciation for the remarkable speed of recovery observed in the Chinese cruise market.
