Foreign tourists pose for photos at Temple of Heaven in Beijing, capital of China on May 3, 2025. The Temple of Heaven became a popular tourist spot for foreign visitors during the Labor Day holiday. Photo: VCG

China continues to expand its visa-free "circle of friends," as the mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Micronesia is set to take effect on July 25, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, China and Micronesia will waive visa requirements for citizens from the two countries for a visit of up to 30 days. If a visit exceeds 30 days or involves activities such as work, study, settlement, or news reporting that require prior approval from the competent authorities, a visa must be applied for before entering the territory of that party.

With the optimization and upgrading of measures facilitating foreign visitors' entry to China, such as the visa-free policy and departure tax refunds, the number of inbound tourists continues to rise steadily across various regions.

In the first half of 2025, Dalian International Airport in Northeast China's Liaoning Province recorded more than 668,000 passenger entries and exits, a year-on-year increase of 23.1 percent. Among them, more than 89,000 foreign inbound trips were made, a year-on-year increase of 53.4 percent, with the primary purposes for inbound travelers being business visits, family reunions, and tourism, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

From January to June, more than 1.3 million foreign nationals entered China through Pudong International Airport in Shanghai under visa-free policies, accounting for 53 percent of the total inbound foreign visitors during the period. Data also showed that the number of inbound foreign nationals from South Korea, Japan, and the US ranked among the top three at the airport with South Korean travelers leading with 330,000 arrivals, according to Xinhua.

In the first six months, Central China's Hunan Province saw a continuous rise in inbound tourism. According to CMG, foreign nationals entering China through Hunan's airports came from 132 countries and regions, with South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand ranking as the top three sources of arrivals.

Among inbound foreign nationals, 90 percent, more than 200,000 entries, benefited from mutual visa exemptions, unilateral visa exemptions, or transit visa-free policies, a 1.7-fold increase year-on-year. More than 94 percent of these foreign travelers entered for sightseeing and leisure purposes, CMG reported. 

Xu Xiaolei, a marketing manager at CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times that expanding visa exemptions has been an important measure to promote inbound tourism, which has been warmly welcomed by tourists from various countries.

"This facilitates greater people-to-people exchanges between China and other nations, which is something our market entities and businesses are pleased to see. Inbound tourism is, in essence, a key component of services trade," Xu said.

The growing "visa-free list" shows China's firm resolve in expanding high-level opening-up. The various measures China has taken to ease cross-border travel are all part of China's concrete actions to create an open global economy, Lin Jian, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, told a press conference on June 3.

"China will continue to improve entry policies and add more countries to the visa-free list. We welcome more foreign friends to visit China for excellent shopping experiences, diverse consumption scenarios and more convenient services. China is committed to greater openness and deeper cooperation for shared prosperity with the rest of the world," the spokesperson said.

Source: Global Times