BEIJING -In a show of commendable reciprocity, China and Switzerland have agreed to relax visa requirements for each other, it emerged on Monday.
In a joint announcement, China announced to allow visa-free entry of citizens from Switzerland while Switzerland pledged increased visa facilitation for Chinese citizens and enterprises investing in the country.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang and President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd, who convened for discussions, expressed their commitment to intensifying people-to-people exchanges in celebration of the upcoming 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations next year.
The announcement comes hours before the gathering of business leaders and policymakers in the ski resort town of Davos. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is also attending the sessions and is being viewed as one of the top guests at the gathering.
In recent months, China has eased visa restrictions for people from different countries but the relaxation for Switzerland is unique considering that it is a unilateral visa-free liberty granted to Swiss citizens; earlier, Beijing announced to waive visa requirements for citizens from Thailand on a permanent basis from March this year.
Apart from the visa relaxation, the two countries have also agreed to cement ties on multiple fronts. The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that China is willing to … accelerate the restart of exchanges at all levels and in all fields.
