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.

中国将门户越开越大，欢迎外国游客的脚步。从本周四开始，中国将免签政策扩大至六个更多的国家，其中包括瑞士和爱尔兰。此举旨在促进入境旅游和人员交流。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.专家表示，最新的举措是中国已经对包括东南亚国家在内的更多国家的公民免除签证要求，并着手解决外国游客面临的其他问题，包括支付障碍，凸显了中国开放的承诺。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.专家还指出，当前许多主要国家如美国正对中国公民收紧签证政策的时候，中国一系列的开放举措凸显了该国的自信和开放，有利于开放的世界经济。这与一些国家日益崛起的孤立主义和保护主义潮流形成鲜明对比。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.根据最新的发展，从2020年11月5日至2024年11月30日，瑞士、爱尔兰、匈牙利、奥地利、比利时和卢森堡的公民可以在中国进行商务、观光、过境等活动，最长停留时间为15天，无需申请签证。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.这六个国家的免签政策之前已经宣布过，航空公司、旅行社和游客已经开始为其实施做准备，中国与这些国家之间的航班数量增加，咨询和预订也大幅增加。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，免签政策正式生效后，中国华南地区广东与这六个欧洲国家之间的首个直飞航班抵达深圳。这次航班起源于比利时的布鲁塞尔，由海南航空公司运营，搭载了20多名比利时公民。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.预计乘客数量将会增加，海南航空公司在周四告诉《环球时报》目前他们正在运营两个直飞布鲁塞尔的航班，其中北京至布鲁塞尔的航班每天飞行一次，深圳至布鲁塞尔的航班每周飞行三次。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.与此同时，从欧洲到中国的航班搜索量也大幅增加。截至周四下午，中国在线旅游平台去哪儿网告诉《环球时报》，与上周相比，从苏黎世到中国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.根据航空信息提供商VariFlight的数据，总体来看，周四免签政策生效后，中国与欧洲国家之间的一些航线呈现增长趋势，中欧之间的航班数量也略有增加。"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在周四告诉《环球时报》：“这可能表明免签政策将促进中欧之间的旅游和商业交流，并进一步加强中欧之间的联系。”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，中国还对包括法国、德国在内的五个欧洲国家在内的六个国家的公民免除了签证要求。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.根据中国外交部的数据，中国最近还与新加坡、马来西亚和泰国签署了互免签证的协议。这些举措已经提升了入境旅客数量，在中国农历新年假期期间达到了323万人次，而来自这些免签国家的游客数量是2019年的两倍。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.除了免签政策外，中国还推出了一系列其他措施，以便外国公民更便利地访问中国，包括简化签证申请和改进支付服务。由于外国银行卡的接受和身份验证程序的问题，许多外国游客在使用中国的移动支付服务时遇到了困难，而这是中国最常用的支付方式。因此，中国政府采取了各种措施来解决这些问题。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，中国国务院发布通知要求银行、支付和清算机构加强合作，不断改进和扩大外国游客的移动支付服务。周四，中国央行发布了一份关于中国支付服务的指南，指出外国游客现在有多种支付选择，包括移动支付。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.专家表示，旨在促进入境旅游和人文交流的措施只是中国持续、全面开放的一部分，这反映了中国的开放和自信，即使在许多国家转向内向的情况下也是如此。"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.中国人民大学重阳金融研究院高级研究员卞永祖在周四对《环球时报》表示：这些免签政策实际上体现了中国的态度，即我们鼓励人文交流，支持经济全球化，反对贸易保护主义。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.正如一些国家以国家安全为借口试图破坏国与国之间的经济和人文交流，给全球经济带来巨大的不确定性一样，"我们以更大的开放和信心的心态来应对这个不确定时期，"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.特别是美国，出现了大规模的排外主义和保护主义浪潮，实际上采取了一系列破坏全球经济合作的措施。更糟糕的是，华盛顿一直在寻求实现中美脱钩，通过打击中国企业、限制正常贸易和商业活动，甚至在入境口岸对中国学生实施严格的签证要求并不公平对待。"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.""的确，欧洲和美国存在一些保护主义倾向，"卞永祖表示，并指出这些国家面临着内部困难，无法找到可行的解决办法，因此不得不采取打压发展中国家的手段。"贸易保护主义只是一种不可持续的政治手段。"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，中国在面临日益复杂的外部环境时，一直在开放经济并倡导开放的世界经济。最近结束的两会上通过的《政府工作报告》表示，中国将进一步全面深化改革和开放。报告称，例如将废除对制造业外商投资的所有市场准入限制，并减少电信、医疗等服务行业的市场准入限制。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.专家表示，中国持续的开放，特别是制度性开放，不仅将使得外国企业和投资更方便地进入中国市场，还将增强他们对中国经济发展的信心和确定感。"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，这还将帮助外国政府更深入地了解中国的经济发展，并更愿意与中国合作，从而有助于分享中国的外部环境。”