China's Foreign Ministry announced today, November 22, that the country will resume visa-free travel for Japanese tourists staying for up to 30 days.
From 2003 to 2020, the maximum visa-free stay for Japanese citizens visiting China was 15 days. China's visa-free regime has been suspended since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
China’s Foreign Ministry announced that it will reinstate the policy and increase the maximum stay to 30 days. The new policy will be effective from November 30 until the end of 2025 for visitors from Japan and eight other countries including Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia and Latvia, according to Kyodo News.
Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing (China) on November 22
Photo: Kyodo News screenshot
China has exempted visas for short-term visitors from about 30 other countries, including Southeast Asian and European nations and even South Korea.
But Beijing has previously called for granting visas to Chinese citizens on an "equal basis" as a condition for resuming the visa-free regime that Tokyo has repeatedly sought, Kyodo News reported, citing sources familiar with the bilateral relationship.
Japan requires all Chinese visitors to apply for a visa regardless of the length of stay.
Kyodo News quoted a diplomatic source as saying that China's preferential visa policy is part of its efforts to reach out to countries with close ties to the US and minimize any negative impact from the fiercer competition between Beijing and Washington after US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January 2025.
Hours after China's official announcement of the visa waiver, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said his government had urged China to take such a step to speed up private discussions between the two countries.
"We hope that bilateral exchanges will be further encouraged," Ishiba told reporters, stressing that enhancing Japan-China communication is the most important foundation for bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during their meeting in Peru last week to promote "mutually beneficial" and "stable" relations and boost people-to-people exchanges, according to Kyodo News.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-sap-khoi-phuc-che-do-mien-thi-thuc-cho-du-khach-nhat-185241122195255681.htm
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