China is opening its door wider and wider to welcome foreign visitors, as the country extended its visa-free policy to six more countries, including Switzerland and Ireland, starting on Thursday. The move is aimed at boosting inbound tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

中國將門戶越開越大，歡迎外國遊客的腳步。從本周四開始，中國將免簽政策擴大至六個更多的國家，其中包括瑞士和愛爾蘭。此舉旨在促進入境旅遊和人員交流。The latest move comes as China has already waived visa requirements for citizens from more countries, including those in Southeast Asia, and has also moved to address other issues for foreign visitors, including payment hurdles, underscoring the country's commitment to opening-up, experts said.專家表示，最新的舉措是中國已經對包括東南亞國家在內的更多國家的公民免除簽證要求，並著手解決外國遊客面臨的其他問題，包括支付障礙，凸顯了中國開放的承諾。Coming at a time when many major countries such as the US are tightening visa policies for Chinese citizens, China's series of opening-up moves highlight the country's confidence and openness that is conducive for an open world economy, in stark contrast to a rising isolationist and protectionist tide in some countries, experts also noted.專家還指出，當前許多主要國家如美國正對中國公民收緊簽證政策的時候，中國一系列的開放舉措凸顯了該國的自信和開放，有利于開放的世界經濟。這與一些國家日益崛起的孤立主義和保護主義潮流形成鮮明對比。In the latest development, from Thursday to November 30, 2024, citizens from six European countries - Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg - are able to visit China for business, sight-seeing, transit and other purposes for up to 15 days without having to apply for a visa.根據最新的發展，從2020年11月5日至2024年11月30日，瑞士、愛爾蘭、匈牙利、奧地利、比利時和盧森堡的公民可以在中國進行商務、觀光、過境等活動，最長停留時間爲15天，無需申請簽證。The visa-free policies for the six countries were already announced previously, and airlines, travel agencies and visitors have already been preparing for its implementation, with an increased number of flights between China and those countries and surging inquiries and bookings.這六個國家的免簽政策之前已經宣布過，航空公司、旅行社和遊客已經開始爲其實施做准備，中國與這些國家之間的航班數量增加，咨詢和預訂也大幅增加。On Thursday, the first direct flight between South China's Guangdong and the six European countries after the visa-free policy officially took effect arrived in Shenzhen. The fight originated from Brussels, Belgium, and was operated by Hainan Airlines, which carried more than 20 Belgian nationals.周四，免簽政策正式生效後，中國華南地區廣東與這六個歐洲國家之間的首個直飛航班抵達深圳。這次航班起源于比利時的布魯塞爾，由海南航空公司運營，搭載了20多名比利時公民。Anticipating a growing number of passengers, Hainan Airlines told the Global Times on Thursday that it currently operates two direct flights to Brussels, with the one between Beijing and Brussels running daily and the one between Shenzhen and Brussels flying three times a week.預計乘客數量將會增加，海南航空公司在周四告訴《環球時報》目前他們正在運營兩個直飛布魯塞爾的航班，其中北京至布魯塞爾的航班每天飛行一次，深圳至布魯塞爾的航班每周飛行三次。Meanwhile, searches for flights from Europe to China have also surged. As of Thursday afternoon, searches for flights from Zurich to China have increased by 60 percent compared with last week, Chinese online travel platform Qunar.com told the Global Times on Thursday.與此同時，從歐洲到中國的航班搜索量也大幅增加。截至周四下午，中國在線旅遊平台去哪兒網告訴《環球時報》，與上周相比，從蘇黎世到中國的航班搜索量增加了60%。Overall, after the visa-free policies took effect on Thursday, some routes between China and those of European countries have shown a growth trend and the number of flights between China and Europe is increasing slightly, according to aviation information provider VariFlight.根據航空信息提供商VariFlight的數據，總體來看，周四免簽政策生效後，中國與歐洲國家之間的一些航線呈現增長趨勢，中歐之間的航班數量也略有增加。"This may indicate that the visa-free policy will promote tourism and business exchanges between the two sides and further strengthen ties between China and Europe," VariFlight told the Global Times on Thursday.VariFlight在周四告訴《環球時報》：“這可能表明免簽政策將促進中歐之間的旅遊和商業交流，並進一步加強中歐之間的聯系。”In December 2023, China also waived visa requirements for citizens from six countries, including five European nations such as France and Germany.在2023年12月，中國還對包括法國、德國在內的五個歐洲國家在內的六個國家的公民免除了簽證要求。China has also recently signed agreements with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand on mutual visa exemption. Such moves have already boosted the number of inbound travelers, which reached 3.23 million during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, and the number of visitors from those visa-free countries doubled that of 2019, according to China's Foreign Ministry.根據中國外交部的數據，中國最近還與新加坡、馬來西亞和泰國簽署了互免簽證的協議。這些舉措已經提升了入境旅客數量，在中國農曆新年假期期間達到了323萬人次，而來自這些免簽國家的遊客數量是2019年的兩倍。In addition to visa exemptions, China has also rolled out a slew of other measures to make it more convenient for foreign nationals to visit, including streamlining visa applications and improving payment services. Due to issues surrounding the acceptance of foreign bank cards and identity authentication procedures, many foreign visitors have faced difficulties when using China's mobile payment services, which is the most commonly used payment mothed in China. Hence, Chinese authorities have taken various steps to address these issues.除了免簽政策外，中國還推出了一系列其他措施，以便外國公民更便利地訪問中國，包括簡化簽證申請和改進支付服務。由于外國銀行卡的接受和身份驗證程序的問題，許多外國遊客在使用中國的移動支付服務時遇到了困難，而這是中國最常用的支付方式。因此，中國政府采取了各種措施來解決這些問題。Last week, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a notice asking banks and payment and clearing entities to strengthen cooperation to continuously improve and expand mobile payment services for foreign visitors. On Thursday, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, issued a guide to payment services in China, saying foreign visitors now have a number of payment options, including mobile payments.上周，中國國務院發布通知要求銀行、支付和清算機構加強合作，不斷改進和擴大外國遊客的移動支付服務。周四，中國央行發布了一份關于中國支付服務的指南，指出外國遊客現在有多種支付選擇，包括移動支付。The measures aimed at boosting inbound travel and people-to-people exchanges are just part of China's continuous, comprehensive opening-up drive, which reflects the country's openness and confidence, even when many countries are turning inward, experts said.專家表示，旨在促進入境旅遊和人文交流的措施只是中國持續、全面開放的一部分，這反映了中國的開放和自信，即使在許多國家轉向內向的情況下也是如此。"These visa-free policies are actually a manifestation of China's attitude that we are encouraging people-to-people exchange, supporting economic globalization and against trade protectionism," Bian Yongzu, a senior researcher with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Thursday.中國人民大學重陽金融研究院高級研究員卞永祖在周四對《環球時報》表示：這些免簽政策實際上體現了中國的態度，即我們鼓勵人文交流，支持經濟全球化，反對貿易保護主義。As some countries are trying disrupt economic and people-to-people exchanges between nations with the pretext of national security, causing great uncertainty for the global economy, "we are coping with this period of uncertainty with this mindset of greater openness and confidence," Bian said.正如一些國家以國家安全爲借口試圖破壞國與國之間的經濟和人文交流，給全球經濟帶來巨大的不確定性一樣，"我們以更大的開放和信心的心態來應對這個不確定時期，"卞永祖表示。The US, in particular, has been seeing a surge of xenophobia and protectionism and has actually taken a litany of measures that disrupt global economic cooperation. Worse yet, Washington has been seeking a decoupling between China and the US by cracking down on Chinese firms, restricting normal trade and commercial activities, and even imposing strict visa requirements and treating Chinese students unfairly at the ports of entry.特別是美國，出現了大規模的排外主義和保護主義浪潮，實際上采取了一系列破壞全球經濟合作的措施。更糟糕的是，華盛頓一直在尋求實現中美脫鈎，通過打擊中國企業、限制正常貿易和商業活動，甚至在入境口岸對中國學生實施嚴格的簽證要求並不公平對待。"Indeed, there are some protectionist tendencies in Europe and the US," Bian said, noting that some of these countries are facing profound internal difficulties that they have no viable solutions to address, so they have resorted to cracking down on developing countries. "Trade protectionism is just a political expedient that is unsustainable.""的確，歐洲和美國存在一些保護主義傾向，"卞永祖表示，並指出這些國家面臨著內部困難，無法找到可行的解決辦法，因此不得不采取打壓發展中國家的手段。"貿易保護主義只是一種不可持續的政治手段。"In contrast, China, even as it faces an increasingly complex external environment, has been opening up its economy and advocating for an open world economy. The Government Work Report, adopted at the recently concluded two sessions, said that China will further deepen reform and opening-up across the board. As an example, all market access restrictions on foreign investment in manufacturing will be abolished, and market access restrictions in services sectors, such as telecommunications and healthcare, will be reduced, according to the report.相比之下，中國在面臨日益複雜的外部環境時，一直在開放經濟並倡導開放的世界經濟。最近結束的兩會上通過的《政府工作報告》表示，中國將進一步全面深化改革和開放。報告稱，例如將廢除對制造業外商投資的所有市場准入限制，並減少電信、醫療等服務行業的市場准入限制。China's continued opening-up, particularly institutional opening-up, will not only make it more convenient for foreign businesses and investments to enter China, but will also boost their confidence and sense of certainty about China's economic development, experts said.專家表示，中國持續的開放，特別是制度性開放，不僅將使得外國企業和投資更方便地進入中國市場，還將增強他們對中國經濟發展的信心和確定感。"Moreover, it will also help foreign governments form a deeper understanding of China's economic development and become more willing to cooperate with China, which in turn helps share China's external environment," Bian said.

卞永祖表示：“此外，這還將幫助外國政府更深入地了解中國的經濟發展，並更願意與中國合作，從而有助于分享中國的外部環境。”