A few years back, obtaining a visa to visit China was quite a hassle, according to Kate Murray. The Australian was attending a four-day trade show, but the visa process required a formal invitation from the organizers and what felt like an overwhelming amount of paperwork. “They wanted so many details about your life and personal life,” she shared. “The paperwork was absurd.”
However, if she were to travel again now, Murray could simply board a plane. Australians are among the citizens of nearly 40 countries for which China has now eliminated visa requirements for business, tourism, or family visits for up to four weeks. This marks a significant shift in Beijing’s stance towards foreign visitors, driven by economic necessity and strategic soft diplomacy. Under Xi Jinping’s authoritarian regime, China is becoming increasingly politically isolated from the West, yet it has never been more welcoming as a holiday destination.
Before the pandemic, China permitted visa-free entry only for travelers from three countries: Singapore, Brunei, and Japan. Now, that number has expanded to 38, with plans to increase it further. Additionally, there are various other options, including transit visas on arrival for citizens from 54 countries, allowing them to explore specific cities for three to ten days, along with government initiatives aimed at simplifying in-country experiences, such as making it easier to pay with non-local cards or cash.
“‘On-a-whim travel’ to China is becoming a reality,” a spokesperson from the foreign affairs ministry stated in 2023. Between 2023 and 2024, foreign visits surged by approximately 83% to 64.88 million, with 20.11 million utilizing visa-free entry—more than double the previous year, according to China’s national immigration administration. State media and authorities attribute this increase directly to the visa waivers.
“China is playing a very smart game to make it easier for foreigners to visit,” remarked Prof. Songshan Huang, head of the tourism research center at Australia’s Edith Cowan University. “There is a public diplomacy intention behind this. The Chinese economy is slowing down, and foreign visitors spending money in China represents a net gain for the Chinese economic system.”
Despite global tourism nearing a full recovery in 2024 and the Asia region returning to 85%, visitor numbers to China remain only about two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels. Most visitors seem to be coming from nearby countries or those with friendlier relations with Beijing. A recent analysis indicated that the largest increases in arrivals were from countries like Malaysia and Thailand, while the number of visitors from Germany, France, and Italy had decreased by around a third. Data on foreign visitors to Beijing from 2019 to 2024 showed increases of 100-300% among Vietnamese, Mongolians, Russians, and Malaysians, but an overall 18% decline in foreign visitors, with significant drops in visitors from the US.
