Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: mfa.gov.cn

China's unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from six countries has already provided travelers from those countries with practical convenience, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday while reporting on the results of the newly implemented policy. 

To further facilitate cross-border people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries, and serve the country's high-quality development and opening-up, China rolled out a one-year visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from six countries - France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia - starting from December 1, 2023. 

The unilateral visa exemption policy from China has achieved positive results, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. 

Statistics from China's National Immigration Administration show that, the number of inbound travelers from relevant countries kept rising between December 1 and 3, with nearly 18,000 inbound visitors came from the six countries, Wang said, noting the average daily number of inbound travelers increased by 39 percent compared with the number on November 30. 

Among these travelers, nearly 7,000 entered China through visa-free channels, accounting for 39 percent of the total number of inbound travelers from the six countries, Wang added.

These statistics showed that the visa-free policy has created practical convenience for passport holders from these countries. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it will continue to optimize the visa policy, actively create favorable conditions and provide more convenience for the smooth people-to-people exchanges between China and abroad, Wang said. 

Global Times