Han Ximin

1824296095@qq.com

AS of Saturday, Shenzhen had witnessed the entry of 3,800 foreign visitors from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia since China initiated a unilateral 15-day visa-free entry for travelers from these six countries starting from Dec. 1.

Data from the Shenzhen Airport Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station revealed that more than 1,000 travelers availed themselves of this privilege through flight services. Among the inbound travelers, individuals from Malaysia, Spain, and Germany constituted 62.2%, 1.7%, and 12.6%, respectively. Currently, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport operates 90 flights weekly connecting to these six nations.

The one-year trial policy, set to conclude Nov. 30 next year, allows citizens from the five European countries and Malaysia to enter China without a visa for purposes such as business, tourism, family visits, and transit. The initiative aims to streamline cross-border travel, fostering high-quality development and enhanced openness.

“This policy is very convenient, and we can come to China to visit friends within the validity of our passport,” a traveler identified as Yee from Malaysia said during an interview.

To facilitate the implementation of the policy, the entry-exit authority at the Shenzhen airport has expanded the number of lanes for inbound travelers, according to Nie Junfeng, deputy chief of the inspection unit at the Shenzhen Airport Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station.

Throughout this year, the Shenzhen airport has reinstated or opened 18 international routes while intensifying 16 routes connecting to 31 cities worldwide. These include 11 intercontinental routes connecting Shenzhen with cities such as Los Angeles, Vancouver, London, Paris, Rome, Brussels, Moscow, Barcelona, Sydney, Auckland, and Johannesburg.

Towards the end of this year and early next year, the Shenzhen airport plans to open new routes to Cairo in Egypt and Fukuoka in Japan, according to a source from the airport.

The 15-day visa-free entry policy for the six nations represents China’s latest effort to optimize its visa policies. In November, the country expanded its visa-free transit policy to 54 countries, including citizens of Norway.

In a recent development, China and Singapore have agreed to implement a 30-day mutual visa-free arrangement and are working on the details of the arrangement, aiming to benefit people from both nations, according to Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Foreign Ministry.

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed the plan in a statement, emphasizing that the new visa arrangement will be implemented early next year.