China is trialing something new for foreign visitors. The Asian country is all set to start allowing the visa-free entry of international travellers from a total of 6 countries. China is starting a visa-free travel facility for citizens of Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain. To know more about China’s new rule for the citizens of the above-mentioned international countries, read on.
China Set To Trial Visa-Free Entry For Malaysia & 5 European Countries
Traveling to this country is surely going to see some changes with the introduction of this new visa-free entry initiative. The foreign ministry made the announcement that China is initiating the trial soon. Travellers from Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain carrying ordinary passports can travel to China without any visa. A big point here is that they are allowed to do so only while visiting for a maximum of 15 days, according to a report by BBC.
The trial is all set to kickstart from the first day of December to the last date of November 2024. It means that the trial is going to continue for the residents of the above-mentioned 6 foreign countries for a period of one year. Though residents of most global countries require a visa for travelling to China, there are some exceptions here. This is not the first time China is going to allow citizens of any foreign country to enter without a visa. Before the outbreak of coronavirus, China allowed visa-free entry for citizens of Brunei, Singapore, and Japan.
The rule was suspended after the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, China once again started allowing citizens of only Brunei and Singapore to enter without a visa in July. Along with travellers from Brunei and Singapore, people from Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain are ready for visa-free entry to China.
Why Is China Taking This Major Step?
There are some significant reasons behind China taking this crucial decision of visa-free entry for visitors from different countries. Mao Ning, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman shared on Friday during a briefing that the reason is to help in boosting “high-quality development and opening up”. The primary goal is to ease the development of both Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges. Along with all these, the visa-free entry decision is to focus on high-quality opening up as well.
After the outbreak of the coronavirus in China and all around the world, China started following some major restrictions and measures. From lockdowns to quarantine periods, there were tons of strict curbs for travelling to China. All these led to many people thinking about their travel plans and also cancelling their journeys. The restrictions continued for almost 3 years until the authorities lifted them this year.
The strict curbs of the COVID-19 pandemic majorly impacted the number of people travelling to China following all the strict guidelines. The tourist footfall from foreign places has not reached the pre-pandemic times yet.
Have you been to China yet? If yes, how were your experiences of travelling the country?
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