Thailand, China sign visa exemption agreement

The foreign ministers of Thailand and China have signed a visa-free agreement for each other's citizens, as the two countries seek to boost ties.

According to an agreement signed today in Bangkok between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Thai counterpart Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, citizens of the two countries will be exempted from visa requirements when traveling to each other's country from March 1.

Thailand hopes the deal will encourage more Chinese to visit the country, boosting its tourism industry that is struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The agreement is a symbol of the long-standing friendship and trust between our two countries, and will help boost tourism in both countries,” Foreign Minister Parnpree said.

Mr. Wang Yi welcomed the agreement, saying that Thais and Chinese “are one family.” “The visa exemption will promote people-to-people exchanges to a new level, helping to increase the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand,” Mr. Wang said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara at the visa exemption agreement signing ceremony in Bangkok on January 28. Photo: Reuters

Details of the visa-free agreement have not been released, but Thai officials said earlier this month that citizens of both countries would be allowed to stay for up to 30 days on each visit.

Tourism is a major driver for Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy after Indonesia. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest share of Thailand’s tourism industry. Since the pandemic, the pace of Chinese visitors to Thailand has been very slow. Figures show that Chinese tourists to Thailand will reach 3.5 million in 2023, down sharply from 11 million in 2019.

Beijing and Bangkok also pledged to speed up construction of the China-Thailand railway and cooperate in combating transnational crime, Wang said.

Huyen Le (According to AFP , Reuters )

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