Foreign tourists pick souvenirs at the Nanluoguxiang Lane, a popular tourist site in Beijing, on May 16, 2025. Photo: VCG

 

China's border inspection authorities said that 15.89 million foreign nationals entered the country visa-free from January to August of this year, marking 52.1 percent year-on-year growth, People's Daily reported on Thursday.

The data was released at the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum (Lianyungang) held in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province on Thursday. 

From January to August this year, border inspection authorities nationwide conducted a total of 460 million inbound and outbound passenger inspections, marking a year-on-year increase of 14.9 percent, the data also showed.

A breakdown of the figures shows that 51.268 million were foreign nationals, reflecting a 27.8 percent rise compared to the same period last year. Among them, 15.89 million entered the countrt visa-free, accounting for 62.1 percent of all foreign inbound arrivals and representing a 52.1 percent year-on-year growth.

National Immigration Administration (NIA) vows to continue to optimize the customs clearance environment at ports, continuously improve the level of customs clearance facilitation, and make exchanges and interactions between Chinese and foreign personnel more convenient.

China has introduced unilateral visa-free entry and mutual visa exemption agreements with 75 countries as part of its efforts to streamline visa rules and promote international exchange, Wang Zhizhong, head of the NIA said at a press conference on July 30.

Wang also noted that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the number of countries eligible for visa-free transit to China has increased to 55, while the number of entry ports has expanded to 60 across 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

Global Times