China exempts four more European countries from visas, and continues to exclude Portugal

China will extend its visa-free policy to citizens of four more European countries – Slovenia, Greece, Denmark and Cyprus -, a measure that excludes Portugal, Chinese diplomacy announced in recent days.

The extension comes after, at the beginning of the month, Beijing included Norway in the list of countries whose citizens will be able to stay in the Asian country for tourism, business or transit for 15 days, visa-free.

This month’s announcements mean that a total of 16 European countries now benefit from Beijing’s measure, which is trying to stimulate international tourism and foreign investment, shaken by the Covid-19 pandemic, during which China imposed an almost total closure of borders.

Spain, France or Italy now have free entry

In November last year, China announced that nationals of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain would benefit from a unilateral visa exemption.

In March, it extended the policy for stays of up to 15 days to six more European countries — Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. Portugal, however, remains absent.

In recent months, the Asian country has adopted a series of measures to help international travelers.

Electronic payment services WeChat Pay and Alipay announced several measures last year to make their payment systems available to foreign users visiting China, who sometimes have difficulty paying in the country and using certain services.

Foreigners who visited China in the first half of 2024 more than doubled to 14.64 million, equivalent to an increase of 152.7% compared to the same period in 2023.

Data from the Asian country’s National Immigration Administration revealed that visa-free entries exceeded 8.5 million, representing 58% of trips and an increase of 190% compared to the previous year.

However, the number of foreigners remains below pre-pandemic records, when China was visited by around 15 million visitors per year.