Reuters-China offers visa-free entry for citizens of France Germany Italy
November 24, 2023 2 min 370 words
中国宣布自12月1日至明年11月30日期间，法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、西班牙和马来西亚公民暂时免签入境，旨在促进疫情后的旅游业。此举有助于振兴中国旅游业，尤其是在过去三年实行严格防疫措施后。此外，中国政府试图改善其在全球的形象，尤其是与多个西方国家在COVID、人权、台湾和贸易等问题上的分歧。然而，根据皮尤研究中心的一项调查，全球24个国家的成年人对中国的看法普遍负面，有67%的受访者表达了不好的看法。对此，德国驻华大使帕特里夏·弗洛尔表示，这一决定将大大便利德国公民前往中国。然而，这也引发了一些问题，如中国公民能否获得类似的便利，需要欧洲申根协议成员国的同意。整体而言，这一决定对于中国与欧洲国家之间的外交和经济关系可能产生积极影响，但也需要关注平衡和对等的原则。
China will temporarily exempt citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia from needing visas to visit the world's second-largest economy in a bid to give a boost to post-pandemic tourism.
From Dec. 1 to Nov. 30 next year, citizens of those countries entering China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, or transiting for no more than 15 days, will not need a visa, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
China has been taking steps in recent months - including restoring international flight routes - to revive its tourism sector following three years of strict COVID-19 measures that largely shut its borders to the outside world.
The government is also looking to re-establish its image around the world after clashing with many Western countries on various issues including COVID, human rights, Taiwan and trade.
A recent Pew Research Center survey in 24 countries revealed that views of China were broadly negative, with 67% of adults expressing unfavourable views.
More than half of the respondents said China interfered in the affairs of other countries and did not take into account the interests of others.
"This decision will facilitate travel to China for many German citizens to an unprecedented extent," Germany's ambassador to China, Patricia Flor, said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"We hope that the Chinese government will implement the measures announced today for all EU member states," she said.
Visa-free travel to Germany for Chinese nationals would only be possible if all members of the European Schengen Agreement approved, she said.
This month, China expanded its visa-free transit policy to 54 countries to include citizens of Norway.
In August, China scrapped all COVID test requirements for inbound travellers. It resumed 15-day visa-free entry for citizens of Singapore and Brunei in July.
International flights in and out the country, while recovering more slowly than services on the domestic network, have been picking up.
China's aviation authority said in October that 16,680 weekly flights were expected in the subsequent five months, with passenger flights expected to reach 71% of the total four years ago.