The exemption will take effect on March 14, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced on Thursday during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing.
“I wish to share with you that starting from March 14, China will further extend, on a pilot basis, visa exemption to six countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg,” Wang said.
Visa exemptions for Switzerland and Ireland passport holders were both announced in January when Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited both countries, according to Chinese state media reports, with the other countries listed by Wang being the latest additions.
“We hope more countries will offer Chinese citizens visa exempt visa facilitation and work with us to build fast track networks for cross border travels and encourage speedy resumption of international passenger flights,” Wang said, adding this “will make it more convenient for Chinese citizens to travel abroad and make foreign friends feel at home in China.”
China’s recent moves to make it easier for travelers from certain countries to visit are part of efforts to boost foreign tourism as its economy struggles to recover.
In January, China signed a reciprocal agreement with Thailand and Singapore to permanently waive tourist visa requirements for each other’s citizens from March. In November last year, China announced a trial program to allow visitors from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia to enter visa-free for 15 days.
Though US travelers still need a tourist visa to enter China, restrictions have been eased and they no longer have to submit proof of a round-trip flight booking, a hotel reservation, an organized itinerary or a letter of invitation as of January 1, 2024.
The Chinese embassy in Washington announced the newly relaxed guidelines on December 29, 2023, citing the desire “to further facilitate people-to-people exchanges.”
Foreign travelers have been slow to return to the country, with 2023 arrival numbers down more than 60% from pre-pandemic levels.
China’s border authorities recorded 35.5 million entries and exits by foreign nationals last year, according to the National Immigration Administration. That’s nearly seven times more than the number from 2022, when the country was deep in its three-year self-imposed Covid isolation.
The 2023 figure is just 36% of the 97.7 million border entries and exits by foreign nationals recorded in 2019, suggesting a long road to full recovery, though momentum picked up toward the end of the year.