China announces visa-free entry for another country as travel rebounds

BEIJING - The authorities in China seem to be on a spree in terms of relaxing visa requirements for other countries as another announcement has been made in this regard.

Beijing has now decided to allow citizens from Poland to visit the country without the need for a visa, it emerged on Monday after a high-level discussion between the leaders from both the countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has confirmed that the government has decided to adopt a 15-day unilateral visa-free policy for Polish citizens, adding that both sides should vigorously promote exchanges in culture, youth, academia and media.

The comments by Xi were made after interaction with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda who is on an official visit to China.

Besides relaxing visa requirements to boost tourism, both leaders agreed on enhancing cooperation in different fields for the benefit of citizens.

It is to be highlighted that China has relaxed or completely waived visa requirements for multiple countries as the Asian nation opened up to the outside world last year following the lifting of social distancing protocols.

China not only faced criticism for its handling of COVID-19 but also faced economic brunt due to social distancing protocols which brought travel to a standstill. Soon after the restrictions were lifted, the country tried to attract tourists and offered visa-free entry to countries including Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. 

China has also signed a visa-free agreement with Thailand permanently from March this year and the country is still looking for ways to attract more and more tourists from across the world.