International

China extends visa-free entry to over 70 countries to draw tourists

Tuesday, 08 July 2025 - 7:27 pm

Foreign tourists are trickling back to China after the country loosened its visa policy to unprecedented levels.

Citizens from 74 countries can now enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, a big jump from previous regulations.

The gove ment has been steadily expanding visa-free entry in a bid to boost tourism, the economy and its soft power.

More than 20 million foreign visitors entered without a visa in 2024 — almost one-third of the total and more than double from the previous year.

After lifting tough COVID-19 restrictions, China reopened its borders to tourists in early 2023, but only 13.8 million people visited in that year, less than half the 31.9 million in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

In December 2023, China announced visa-free entry for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. Almost all of Europe has been added since then.

Travelers from five Latin American countries and Uzbekistan became eligible last month, followed by four in the Middle East. The total will grow to 75 on July 16 with the addition of Azerbaijan.

“The new visa policies are 100 percent beneficial to us,” said Jenny Zhao, a managing director of WildChina, which specializes in boutique and luxury routes for inte ational travelers.

She said business is up 50 percent compared with before the pandemic.

While the U.S. remains their largest source market, accounting for around 30 percent of their current business, European travelers now make up 15–20  percent of their clients, a sharp increase from less than 5 percent before 2019, according to Zhao.

“We’re quite optimistic” Zhao said, “we hope these benefits will continue.”