China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to nine more countries, including Malta, as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting November 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The addition of Japan appears to reflect a recent willingness on China’s part to improve ties, which have soured in part over more strident talk from Tokyo on the Taiwan issue. The two countries reached a deal in September in their dispute over the release into the sea of treated but still radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japan was one of the three countries with visa-free entry before the pandemic, and the government had repeatedly requested an early resumption, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo.
“We hope the visa exemption measure announced by the Chinese side will contribute to further smooth our exchanges between Japan and China,” he said.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia – on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.
Government statement
In a statement, the government said that effective from November 30, 2024, Maltese citizens holding ordinary passports will be able to enter the People’s Republic of China without a visa for stays of up to 30 days.
Announcing this development, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg welcomed the agreement as another milestone in the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries.
From November 30, 2024, to December 31, 2025, Maltese passport holders will be able to enter China without a visa for stays of up to 30 days for purposes such as business, tourism, family visits, exchanges, and transit. Individuals who do not meet these criteria for visa exemption will still be required to obtain a visa before travelling to China.
“This visa-free agreement reflects the strong mutual trust and commitment to fostering closer ties in tourism, business, and cultural exchange. It simplifies travel for our citizens but also paves the way for deeper cooperation and new international trade opportunities,” said Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg.
Today’s agreement marks the second significant agreement that the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade reached with China during the last 12 months, with the first one being the memorandum of understanding on the exportation of bluefin tuna to China, during Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg’s official visit to China, in November 2023, the government said.