China's new visa-free policy to boost tourism, economic exchanges
转自：新华网
PassengersgothroughbordercontrolattheinternationalterminalofSanyaPhoenixInternationalAirportinSanya,southChina'sHainanProvince,July26,2023.(Xinhua/YangGuanyu)
SHANGHAI/HANGZHOU,Dec.6(Xinhua)--AfterlearningaboutChina'snewvisa-freeentrypolicy,GermantouristKrauseArthurRobertimmediatelybookedaticketforanimpromptutriptoShanghai.
"Ireadaboutthenewpolicyontheinternetthatitispossiblewithoutavisatocomeforashort-termvisittoseethecity,"saidRobertwhoadjustedhisoverallitinerarytoincludeavisittoShanghaibeforeheadingtoBangkok.
Chinaistrialingvisa-freetravelforordinarypassportholdersfromFrance,Germany,Italy,theNetherlands,SpainandMalaysiatoboostpeople-to-peopleexchangesandhigh-levelopening-up.
FromDec.1toNov.30nextyear,holdersofordinarypassportsfromtheabovesixcountriescanenterChinavisa-freeforbusiness,tourism,visitingrelativesandfriendsandtransitfornomorethan15days.
"Now,ifthereisaneedforbusinessexchanges,IcansimplybuyaplaneticketandcometoChina,whichisveryconvenient,"saidUbedaEspiJuanRafael,aSpanishbusinessmanandoneofthe2,029peoplewhoavailedthemselvesofthisnewpolicyonitsinauguralday.
Asof6p.m.onMonday,nearly1,400peoplefromthesixcountrieshadenteredChinathroughShanghai'sPudongandHongqiaoairportsunderthevisaexemptionpolicy,andtheHangzhouInternationalAirportineastChina'sZhejiangProvincereceivedover330people,accordingtostatisticsfromlocalexitandentryauthorities.
Meanwhile,anarrayofmeasureshasbeenrolledouttoenhancetheexperiencefortravelersexemptfromvisarequirements.
Hangzhouairport,forinstance,hasbolstereditstranslationservices,offeringassistanceinmultiplelanguagessuchasEnglish,FrenchandItaliantomeetthediverseneedsofpassengers.Ithasexpandeditsflightschedulestopopularinternationalcitiesandaddeddirectintercontinentalroutes.
InShanghai,immigrationinspectionauthoritieshavecollaboratedwithairlinestooptimizecustomsprocedures,closelymonitoredpassengerflow,andpromptlyopenedinspectionchannelsforefficientprocessing.
Thevisa-freeentrypolicyisChina'slatestefforttoboosttourismandeconomicexchanges.Lastmonth,Chinaexpandeditsvisa-freetransitpolicytoincludecitizensfromNorwayfora72/144-hourstay,bringingthetotalnumberofapplicablecountriesto54.
ImmigrationdepartmentsacrossChinahandled123millionborderentriesandexitsinthethirdquarterof2023,ayear-on-yearincreaseof454.4percent,theNationalImmigrationAdministration(NIA)said.
China'svisa-freepolicyfortravelersfromsixcountrieshasyieldedpositiveresults,andtheforeignministrywillcontinuetooptimizeitsvisapolicytoprovidemoreconvenienceforcross-bordertravel,ChineseforeignministryspokespersonWangWenbinsaidTuesday.
Wang,citingNIAdata,saidabout7,000peoplefromthesixcountriescoveredbythevisaexemptionpolicyenteredChinafromDec.1to3,accountingfor39percentofthetotalnumberofentriesfromthesecountries.
"Thispolicy(visaexemption)isveryexcitingandisquitefavorableforinboundtourism,"saidZhouWeihong,deputygeneralmanagerofSpringTourtravelagency."Theincreaseininboundtouristswilldriveconsumptioninsectorsincludingtransportation,dining,accommodationandshopping."
IntheviewofLuigiGambardella,presidentofChinaEU,abusiness-ledinternationaldigitalassociationinBrussels,thevisaexemptionfortravelersfromthemajorEuropeaneconomieswillalsofacilitatemanagersofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprisestotraveltoChinaforbusiness,exhibitions,andsoon,whichwillalsoenhanceconfidenceininvestinginChina.
"Peopleneedtogainfirst-handexperiencetohavearealunderstandingofadifferentcountryandadifferentculture.Manypeople'svisitstoChinahavechangedtheirstereotypesofChina,"saidGambardella.
编辑：呼乐乐