In 2022, only 115.7 million cross-border trips were made to and from China. Areas in China that didn’t need visas before the pandemic will return to visa-free entry.
Visa-free entry will resume for Hong Kong and Macao foreigners in the southern Guangdong hub. China said it would start issuing all categories of visas to foreigners again from Wednesday, scrapping the last cross-border control measure imposed three years ago to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
The move, which comes after authorities last month declared victory over a recent surge in the virus, is expected to help revive a $17 trillion economy that last year suffered one of its slowest growth rates in nearly half a century. Areas of China that did not require visas before the pandemic will return to visa-free entry, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. This will include the southern tourist island of Hainan and cruise ships passing through the port of Shanghai.
Visa-free entry will also resume for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau to the southern Guangdong hub. The ministry also said that foreigners holding visas issued before March 28, 2020, and still within their validity period, will also be able to enter China.
China, which in January withdrew its warning to citizens against travelling abroad and added another 40 countries to its list for which group tours are allowed, bringing the total number of countries to 60.
However, the list excludes Japan, South Korea, Australia and the United States. In 2022, only 115.7 million cross-border trips were made to and from China, and foreigners accounted for about 4.5 million.
Leave a Comment