Visitors pose for photos with a giant panda mascot of China's stand at the autumn edition of Romania's Tourism Fair in Bucharest, Romania, Nov. 22, 2024. China's stand attracted visitors at the Romania's Tourism Fair, which is held here from Nov. 21-24, as China has expanded its visa-free policy to nine additional countries including Romania, allowing their citizens to enter for up to 30 days without a visa for business, tourism, and other visits starting Nov. 30, 2024. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua)

China will trial a policy granting ordinary passport holders from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain visa-free entry into China up to 30 days from June 9, 2025 to June 8, 2026, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, noting China now grants visa-free treatment to all GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. 

The latest expansion of China's visa-free policy sends a very positive signal, as it will play a bigger role in boosting commercial and cultural exchanges and also highlights China's commitment to openness, a Chinese expert said. 

When asked to provide more details on China's announcement to extend visa-free policy to four countries including Saudi Arabia on a trial basis during the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at the regular press briefing on Wednesday that to further facilitate cross-border travel, China decided to include more countries in its visa waiver program and extend visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain on a trial basis from June 9, 2025 to June 8, 2026. 

Ordinary passport holders from the above-mentioned four countries can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for no more than 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes, Mao said. 

Other GCC member states - the United Arab Emirates and Qatar - also enjoy comprehensive mutual visa exemption with China starting from 2018. China has given visa-free status to all GCC countries, said Mao. "We welcome more friends from GCC countries to visit China anytime," she added.

Prior to this, at the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum held in Beijing on May 13, China announced an expansion of its visa-free policy for five LAC countries.

"To further facilitate cross-border travel, China decided to include more countries in its visa waiver program and extend the visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay on a trial basis from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026," Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said on May 15.

"China remains committed to high-level opening up and will take more steps to make travel easier between China and other countries. We welcome more foreign friends to benefit from China's visa-free and other visa facilitation policies to come to China and experience its diversity, vibrancy and dynamism," Lin noted at that time.

China's inbound tourism heat emerged in late 2023, with the country's unremitting expansion in its visa-free policy coverage and optimization in its transit visa exemptions, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, visa-free entries reached 20.12 million visits in 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 112.3 percent.  

In 2024, China's travel agency Trip.com saw inbound tourism bookings surge by over 100 percent year-on-year, with bookings from visa-free countries growing by 150 percent, according to statistics sent to the Global Times from the platform on Wednesday.

Shanghai, as the first stop for many foreign visitors to China, recorded 6.71 million inbound tourist arrivals in 2024, an 84 percent increase year-on-year, data from the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism showed.

In the first quarter of 2025, Shanghai received 1.743 million inbound tourist arrivals, up 37.1 percent year-on-year. Foreign visitors accounted for 1.259 million of the total, an increase of 61.9 percent, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism said.

Beijing, China's capital city, is also a hot choice for inbound trips. It saw 2.3 million foreign arrivals in 2025 as of Tuesday, up 39.3 percent and accounting for 28.6 percent of total inbound and outbound trips, data from Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection showed. 

"The continuous expansion of China's visa-free 'circle of friends' not only promotes cultural exchanges but also boosts business growth of industries of relevant countries, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises," Wang said.

Gabriel Martin, a Uruguayan entrepreneur who owns two steakhouses and manages a beef import venture in China, hailed China's visa-free program for LAC countries as a potential boost for his business, because it means more clients, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency.

"China is one of the best countries in terms of business services," Martin was quoted as saying. "The Chinese people are warm and welcoming. Furthermore, it's astonishing how well organized the country is, considering its vast expanse and dense population."