a A few years ago, getting a visa to visit China was “a big deal”, says Kate Murray. The Australian was due to attend the four-day trade show, but in order to obtain a visa he needed a formal invitation from the organizers, which felt like “thousands of documents”. .
“They wanted to know so many details about your life and private life,” she told the Guardian. “The paperwork was a mess.”
But if Murray were to return home again now, he might be able to hop on a plane. Australians are now among the nationals of around 40 countries for which China has waived business, tourist and family visit visas for up to four weeks.
This is a dramatic shift in Beijing’s approach to foreign visitors, but analysts say it is driven by economic necessity and strategic soft diplomacy. Under Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule, China has become increasingly isolated politically from Western countries. But what about when it comes to vacation destinations? This country has never been more open.
Before the pandemic, China allowed visa-free entry to people from just three countries: Singapore, Brunei and Japan. Today, that number stands at 38, and they vow to grow the list even further. There are also a range of other services, including transit visas on arrival that allow people from 54 countries to visit a growing number of selected cities for three to 10 days, and governments that simplify domestic experiences, such as making payments abroad. led campaigns, etc. You can easily pay by local card or cash.
“’Freak travel’ to China is becoming a reality,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson declared in 2023.
According to the China National Immigration Administration, the number of foreign visitors will increase by about 83% from 2023 to 2024 to 64.88 million people, of which 20.11 million people will enter the country without visas, more than double the number from the previous year. State media and authorities have specifically linked this increase to visa waivers.
“China has a very smart strategy to make it more convenient for foreigners to visit China,” said Professor Songshan Huang, director of Australia’s Edith Cowan University Tourism Research Center.
“Public Diploma is the intention behind this. And China’s economy is slowing down. Foreign tourists spending money in China represent a net input into China’s economic system.”
But even though global tourism will almost fully recover in 2024, with the Asian region back at 85%, according to the United Nations, visitor numbers to China are still about three times lower than pre-pandemic levels. It is only 2. And most of the visitors appear to be from neighboring countries or places with friendly relations with Beijing.
According to a recent analysis by Bloomberg, the biggest increases in visitor numbers were in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, while the number of visitors from Germany, France and Italy fell by about a third. According to available data on foreign visitors to Beijing from 2019 to 2024, Vietnamese, Mongolians, Russians and Malaysians increased by 100-300%, while overall foreign visitors increased by 18% Visitors from the United States, Australia, and Australia declined the most. Japan and Korea.
Huang points out that it is clearly cheaper to fly from neighboring countries. There are also far fewer flights arriving from further afield, in part because many Western airlines have restricted access to Russian airspace. According to a report from Bloomberg, flights to and from China remain at about 74% of pre-pandemic levels, with some airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Qantas, canceling routes or closing the market. and have completely withdrawn from it. The US freeze on flights to and from China has not been completely lifted.
But geopolitics is also likely playing a role. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that negative opinions of China in developed countries are near or at historic highs. This is something the Chinese government is actively trying to counter with visa reforms, Huang said.
“They want people to experience China firsthand. That’s what the public diploma is about,” he says. “Visitors will have a deeper understanding of China and form a more favorable image of it. This may not change the geopolitical situation, but it will attract people at the grassroots. ).
Some people have safety concerns. Following a spate of attacks and online hostility against Japanese people in China, the Japanese government has warned citizens not to travel to China or speak Japanese loudly if they do so. The UK, US, Canadian and Australian governments all continue to urge their nationals to remain on high alert in China, citing risks of arbitrary detention, exit bans and strict enforcement of local laws, including national security. There is.
In recent years, all four governments have had serious conflicts and confrontations with the Chinese government. Of the four countries, only Australian citizens have been granted long-term visa-free entry so far in a concerted effort by both governments to “reset” relations – announced in June. It has been extended to December. Notably, Australia did not introduce reciprocal exemptions.
In online forums, Canadian travelers blame the ongoing exclusion on the 2018 arrest of Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and China’s retaliatory arrests of two Canadians living in China. It is linked to the sharply reduced political tensions between China and Canada. The two Michaels, as they became known, were detained for more than 1,000 days. Most commenters were disappointed that a visa was still required, but the fear remained.
“Ever since the two Michaels and Huawei incidents and paying more attention to political news from there, no amount of money could take me,” one Canadian traveler said on Reddit He spoke at
China’s State Council announced this week that it would expand visa-free entry privileges in both the number of eligible countries and the duration of stay permits, in order to “promote new growth points in the cultural and tourism sector and promote related consumption.” However, he did not mention which country.
“I can only speculate that there may be some degree of political consideration towards other countries,” Huang said. He does not think the UK or US will be added to the list.
“I think that’s very unlikely, especially in the United States where President Trump is coming back. The United States treats China as an enemy. If there’s a trade war, China won’t be as generous.”
Meanwhile, Murray is hoping to travel again this year, this time without the hassle of paperwork.
“I loved China,” she says. “Being able to just walk in is a big change.”
