Eleven European countries and Malaysia will enjoy visa-free travel to China until the end of 2025. The trial programme will allow stays for up to 15 days.
Citizens of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland will now be
allowed to enter the country without a visa until the end of next year.
China hopes its extended visa-free initiative will draw tourists and business visitors back to the destination.
In 2023, China recorded 35.5 million entries and exits by foreigners,
according to immigration statistics. That compares to 97.7 million for
all of 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
China previously allowed citizens of Brunei, Japan and Singapore to
enter without a visa but suspended that after the Covid-19 outbreak. It
resumed visa-free entry for Brunei and Singapore in July but has not
done so for Japan.