Foreigners at Beijing Daxing International Airport. [Photo/VCG]

China will grant unilateral visa-free entry for up to 15 days to travelers holding ordinary passports of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

外交部周五宣布，中国将单方面允许持有法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、西班牙和马来西亚普通护照的旅行者免签入境，最长可达15天。

Starting Dec 1, the trial policy will be in effect for one year, until Nov 30, 2024, the ministry's spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a news conference.

外交部发言人毛宁在新闻发布会上表示，自12月1日起，该试行政策将生效一年，直至2024年11月30日。

Citizens of the five European countries and Malaysia can enter China without a visa for business, tourism, family visit and transit purposes, she said, adding that the measure is aimed at facilitating cross-border travel and promoting high-quality development and high-level opening-up.

她说，来自这五个欧洲国家以及马来西亚的公民可以为了商务、旅游、家庭探亲和过境目的无需签证即可进入中国。她还补充说，这项措施旨在便利跨境旅行，并促进高质量发展与高水平对外开放。

This is China's latest effort to improve its visa policies. Earlier this month, it expanded its visa-free transit policy to 54 countries to include citizens of Norway.

这是中国改进签证政策的最新举措。本月早些时候，中国将免签过境政策扩大到54个国家，包括挪威公民在内。

China previously allowed citizens of Brunei, Japan and Singapore to enter without a visa, but suspended this after the COVID-19 outbreak. It resumed visa-free entry for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July.

此前，中国允许文莱、日本和新加坡公民免签入境，但在COVID-19疫情爆发后暂停了这一政策。今年7月，中国恢复了对文莱和新加坡公民的免签入境。

Since the beginning of the year, China has adopted several measures, including scrapping all COVID-19 testing requirements and ceasing online visa appointments in favor of walk-in visa application services, to ensure smooth channels for foreigners traveling to the country.

自今年年初以来，中国采取了多项措施，包括取消所有COVID-19检测要求以及停止在线签证预约，改为提供现场签证申请服务，以确保外国人赴华旅行通道的顺畅。