China has extended its visa waiver policy to nine more countries, including eight in Europe, allowing their citizens to enter for up to 30 days visa-free for business, tourism and other visits from November 30, 2024.
VALLETTA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) — China has extended its visa waiver policy to nine more countries, including eight in Europe, allowing their citizens to enter for a period of up to 30 days without a visa for business, tourism and other tours from November 30, 2024.
The policy now includes Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro and Romania, alongside other nations already benefiting from China’s approach to openness . Officials and tourism professionals from the newly included countries welcomed the move as a step forward towards strengthening bilateral ties.
Maltese Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg on Friday welcomed the policy as a new milestone in the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries.
“This visa waiver agreement reflects the strong mutual trust and desire to foster closer ties in the areas of tourism, business and cultural exchanges,” said Mr Borg, who is also Maltese Minister of Foreign Affairs and European and Trade, in a press release.
“It simplifies the travel of our citizens, but also opens the way to deeper cooperation and new possibilities for international trade,” he added.
For Branka Peric, a Croatian tourist guide, the visa waiver policy is “definitely good news” for tourism and the people who work in this sector.
Ms. Peric, a longtime tour guide who is setting up her own travel agency, said the latest visa-free policy demonstrates China’s openness to the outside world and will tighten restrictions ties of friendship between China and Croatia.
“China and Croatia have long enjoyed good relations, which has been confirmed in many cases. China has shown that it can successfully cooperate with much smaller countries like Croatia, to the benefit of both parties,” she noted.
Xie Dong, Chinese tour guide for Latvia and Estonia, also acknowledged that China’s new visa-free policy would boost tourism between the two Baltic countries and China, calling for direct flights between China and the countries Baltics.
For Nina Merlusca, director for the destination of the Romanian tourist town of Piatra-Neamt, the visa exemption policy for holders of ordinary Romanian passports “will strengthen cooperation between the two countries.”
Based on her personal experience of traveling to China, she said that China is a very welcoming country for tourists.
From November 30, 2024, holders of ordinary passports from 38 visa-free countries will be able to enter China without having to apply for a visa for the purposes of business, tourism, family visits, exchanges, visits and transit, for stays not exceeding 30 days.
