A TOTAL of 2,029 people from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia entered China without a visa Friday, marking the first day of China’s visa exemption policy for ordinary passport holders from these countries.

Among them, 492 people entered China through Shenzhen checkpoints, accounting for about one-fourth of the total visa-free arrivals in the country.

Revealed by China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Saturday, the data showed that 1,113 Malaysian passport holders took advantage of the visa exemption, making Malaysia the country with the highest number of visa-exempt entries on that day among the six.

Meanwhile, French passport holders accounted for 227 visa-exempt entries, representing the largest day-on-day increase in arrivals from the six countries with a growth rate of about 52%.

Overall, the number of arrivals from these six countries increased by over 12% from the previous day.

Among China’s efforts to promote personnel exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries, border control authorities have optimized their personnel deployment and strengthened on-site guidance to ensure efficient and smooth customs clearance at ports of entry, according to the NIA.

Additionally, public security authorities in various regions have been instructed to provide convenient stay arrangements for visa-exempt individuals in accordance with the law and regulations. (SD-Xinhua)