Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:
China offers visa-free entry to 9 more countries in
renewed tourism and diplomatic push
South China Morning Post
Sat, November 2, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. GMT+8·4 min read
People from nine more countries, including South Korea,
Norway, Finland and Slovakia, will have visa-free entry to China from Friday,
as Beijing tries to attract more tourists and improve international ties.
From November 8, nationals from these countries, which also
include Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein, will be allowed to
enter China for business, tourism, family visits or transit for up to 15 days
without a visa, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
The policy will be in effect until
the end of next year and take the total of countries in this category to 25.
The announcement
followed President Xi Jinping's meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico
in Beijing on Friday.
According to the ministry, Fico said Slovakia welcomed
Chinese investments in its clean energy sector and was "willing to join
the Friends of Peace", a group spearheaded by China and Brazil to find a
political settlement to the war in Ukraine.
Fico's trip came just days after the European Commission,
which oversees European Union trade policy, decided to impose tariffs on
Chinese-made electric vehicles. Slovakia was one of the five EU countries that
opposed the tariffs, counting on Chinese investment to help build an EV battery
plant.
As he announced the elevation of ties with Slovakia to a
higher level on Friday, Xi said Beijing attached great importance to relations
between China and the EU.
"China-EU relations should demonstrate due maturity and
stability," Xi was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying.
"[EU institutions] should adopt a positive and
pragmatic approach, properly manage differences, and refrain from politicising
economic and trade issues."
Meanwhile, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, is in East
Asia to foster closer defence partnerships with Japan and South Korea following
reports of North Korean soldiers receiving Russian army uniforms at a base near
Ukraine.
The North Korean presence raises the spectre of a wider
conflict and South Korea is one country that could potentially be drawn in.
China and South Korea maintain robust trade ties but these
have been tested in recent years by Seoul's closer security and political
relations with Washington under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
China has been without an ambassador in South Korea for more
than three months, the longest vacancy since the two countries established
diplomatic ties.
Relations are also complicated by China's ally, North Korea,
but China's visa relaxation appears to signal Beijing's willingness to warm
ties.
It is also a sign of China's desire to boost inbound
tourism.
China has been easing travel curbs imposed during the
Covid-19 pandemic to foreign visitors since last year to inject life into the
economy and to ease the way for people-to-people exchanges to help offset
tensions with the US, Europe and its Asian neighbours.
So far, residents of 16 countries,
including France and Germany, are allowed to enter the country without a visa
for up to 15 days for business, tourism, family visits and transit.
Citizens of a
further 54 countries, including the United States, Canada and Britain, are
allowed to enter the country through one of 37 entry ports and stay for up to
72 or 144 hours without a visa, provided that they have a valid onward ticket
to another country.
In the first half of the year, 14.64
million foreigners visited China, marking a 152 per cent year-on-year increase,
according to the National Immigration Administration.
More than 8.5
million visa-free entries were recorded from January to June this year, making
up 58 per cent of inbound travel, reflecting a 190 per cent increase from a
year earlier.
During the July to September period, 8.18 million foreigners
visited China, up by nearly half year on year. Among them, 4.9 million
visa-free entries were recorded, surging by 78.6 per cent from a year earlier.
Translation
中國再給與9個國家免簽入境政策，再次推動旅遊與外交的發展
隨著北京試圖吸引更多遊客並改善國際關係，來自韓國、挪威、芬蘭和斯洛伐克等另外九個國家的公民將從週五起享受免簽證入境中國的待遇。
中國外交部週五表示表示，自11月8日起，丹麥、冰島、安道爾、摩納哥和列支敦士登等國的國民將可免簽進入中國商務、旅遊、探親或過境，停留時間最長為15天。
該政策將持續到明年年底，使此類國家總數達到
25 個。
這是在習近平主席週五在北京會見斯洛伐克總理Robert
Fico之後宣布的。
據該部稱，Fico表示斯洛伐克歡迎中國對其清潔能源領域的投資，並“願意加入和平之友”，這是一個由中國和巴西牽頭的組織，旨在尋求政治解決烏克蘭戰爭的辦法。
Fico出訪幾天前，負責監督歐盟貿易政策的歐盟委員會決定對中國製造的電動車徵收關稅。斯洛伐克是反對關稅的五個歐盟國家之一，指望中國投資協助興建電動車電池廠。
習近平週五宣布將與斯洛伐克的關係提升到更高水準時表示，北京高度重視中國與歐盟的關係。
國家通訊社新華社引述習近平的話說：「中歐關係應該展現出應有的成熟和穩定」。
「（歐盟機構）應採取積極務實的態度，妥善管控分歧，避免將經貿問題政治化」。
同時，在有報導稱朝鮮士兵在烏克蘭附近的一個基地接收俄羅斯陸軍制服後，歐盟最高外交官Josep
Borrell 正在東亞與日本和韓國建立更密切的國防夥伴關係。
北韓的出現引發了更廣泛衝突的擔憂，韓國是一個可能被捲入的國家。
中國和韓國保持著強勁的貿易往來關係，但近年來，在尹錫悅政府的領導下，首爾與華盛頓更密切的安全和政治連係使這些關係受到了考驗。
中國已連續三個多月沒有駐韓大使，這是兩國建交以來最長的空缺。
中國的盟友北韓也讓兩國關係變得複雜，但中國放寬簽證似乎顯示北京願意緩和關係。
這也是中國希望促進入境旅遊的一個跡象。
自去年以來，中國一直在放鬆Covid-19大流行期間對外國遊客實施的旅行限制，為經濟注入活力，並為人員往來鋪平道路，以幫助緩解與美國、歐洲及其亞洲鄰國的緊張關係。
截至目前，法國、德國等16個國家的居民可免簽入境，停留最長15天，從事商務、旅遊、探親及過境等活動。
包括美國、加拿大和英國在內的另外
54 個國家的公民可以通過
37 個入境口岸之一進入該國，無需簽證即可停留最多
72 或 144 小時，前提是他們持有有效的續程機票到另一個國家。
根據國家移民管理局統計，今年上半年，共有1,464萬人次外國人來華，較去年同期成長152%。
今年1月至6月，免簽入境人數超過850萬人次，佔入境旅遊的58%，較去年同期成長190%。
7月至9月，共有818萬人次外國人來華，較去年同期成長近半。其中，免簽入境490萬人次，年增78.6%。
So, people from 9 more countries will
have visa-free entry to China starting from Friday. So far, residents of 16 countries
are allowed to enter the country without a visa. Citizens of a further 54 countries, including the United
States, Canada and Britain, are allowed to enter the country through one of 37
entry ports without a visa. Apparently, China wants to boost its inbound
tourism.
