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My Take
China’s extended visa-free tourist stays drive momentum for opening
Its latest foreign-visitor policy shows that China is willing to be pragmatic, rather than adhering strictly to ideologies
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Zhou Xin is Tech Editor of the Post, following stints as Political Economy Editor and Deputy China Editor.
China has never been so open to foreign visitors: with its latest visa-free transit policy, passport holders from 54 countries can enter China via 60 ports, visit 24 provincial regions, and stay up to 10 days. This comes after Beijing freed citizens from 38 countries from applying for visas when travelling around the country for up to a month.
It is worth noting that half of China’s territory is now open to citizens from developed economies. These include the nation’s most populous areas, its economic and political heartlands, and hundreds of cities. Places still off-limits to visa-free exploration include Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu, as well as Jilin, China’s border province with North Korea.
The unprecedented visa waiver is expected to bring more tourist money to China, as early data showed a surge of interest for trips to the country. Meanwhile, the 10-day visa-free transit policy will also make business trips much easier, which can help bring in trade and investment opportunities.
But more than that, the policy also reflects a subtle shift in Beijing’s thinking: policymakers are a bit concerned, to say the least, about China’s reduced interactions with the rest of the world.
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