China’s expanded visa waiver policies are driving a major rise in international travel and strengthening global people-to-people exchanges. Beijing ports recorded 19.35 million inbound and outbound travelers as of Sunday, an 18 percent year-on-year increase. Foreign entries and exits reached 5.78 million, up more than 35 percent, with around 60 percent of foreign travelers benefiting from visa-free or temporary entry permit policies.
Nationwide, the impact is clear. In Xiamen, Fujian province, total passenger traffic surpassed 5.4 million, including over 960,000 foreign nationals — the highest ever for this period. Inland cities are also seeing strong growth. Datong in Shanxi province exceeded 50,000 annual international passenger movements for the first time, supported by new air routes to Moscow and Seoul.
“At Xiamen port, 60 percent of foreign travelers enter under visa waiver policies,” said Shen Wenjuan of the Gaoqi frontier inspection station. She added that new travel models such as “visa-free + cruise” packages are boosting numbers.Travel has become even smoother with the online arrival card system launched on Nov 20, allowing passengers to fill out the form before boarding and clear immigration by presenting a QR code. “It saves significant time — the smart port system is remarkably efficient,” said Marcia Raquel, a traveler from Portugal arriving at Beijing Daxing International Airport.
China began unilateral visa-free trials on Dec 1, 2023, for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. These measures have since expanded and been extended. China now has mutual visa exemption agreements with 29 countries and grants unilateral visa-free entry to nationals of 48 countries, forming a broad visa-free network stretching across Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
International connectivity continues to deepen. Since Nov 5, ten more airports have been added to the 24-hour visa-free direct transit list, and 65 entry ports now support the 240-hour visa-free transit policy.Together, these steps are reshaping China’s global engagement. In the third quarter of 2025, the National Immigration Administration reported that mainland residents made 89.37 million of the 178 million inbound and outbound trips, highlighting strong two-way movement.
