[1/5]People walk at a tourist site on Qianmen Street, Beijing, China, March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo License Rights Acquired
BEIJING, Nov 24 (Reuters) – China will temporarily exempt citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia from needing visas to visit the world’s second-largest economy in a bid to boost tourism after the pandemic.
From Dec. 1 to Nov. 30 next year, citizens of these countries entering China for work, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, or transiting for no more than 15 days will not need a visa, a foreign ministry spokesman said in Friday.
In recent months, China has taken steps – including resuming international flights – to revive its tourism sector after three years of strict COVID-19 measures that have largely closed its borders to the outside world.
The government is also seeking to rebuild its image around the world after clashes with many Western countries over a variety of issues, including COVID, human rights, Taiwan and trade.
A recent Pew Research Center survey of 24 countries found that views of China are generally negative, with 67 percent of adults expressing unfavorable views.
More than half of the respondents said that China interferes in the affairs of other countries and does not take into account the interests of others.
“This decision will facilitate travel to China for many German citizens to an unprecedented degree,” Germany’s ambassador to China Patricia Flor said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We hope that the Chinese government will implement the measures announced today for all EU member states,” she said.
Visa-free travel to Germany for Chinese citizens will only be possible if all members of the European Schengen Agreement approve it, she said.
The head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) welcomed the announcement of a temporary visa waiver as “an important signal that can boost both tourism and economic exchange”.
“Above all, the regulation facilitates the maintenance of German machines, the assurance of ‘Made in Germany’ quality, entrepreneurial exchanges and the cultivation of interpersonal contacts,” Volker Treier said in an interview with Reuters.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who is in Beijing, wrote to X: “An excellent new message on the occasion of my visit from my colleague Wang Yi!”
This month, China expanded its visa-free transit policy to 54 countries to include citizens of Norway.
In August, China removed all COVID testing requirements for arriving passengers. It resumed 15-day visa-free entry for citizens of Singapore and Brunei in July.
International flights in and out of the country, although recovering more slowly than domestic network services, are increasing.
China’s aviation authorities said in October that 16,680 weekly flights were expected from November to March, with passenger flights expected to reach 71% of the total four years ago.
The European Chamber of Commerce in China also said the move would help boost business confidence. “It is positive that the authorities are taking steps to facilitate people-to-people exchanges,” he added.
Reporting by Joe Cash, Ethan Wang, Ryan Wu and Renee Wagner; Editing by Kim Coghill, Miral Fahmi and Toby Chopra
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