China awards visa-free travel to six further European countries, taking list to 11
Portugal this week became one of the few Western European countries whose nationals do not benefit from visa-free travel to China.
As of yesterday, the Chinese government has extended its visa exemption policy for stays of up to 15 days to six more European countries – Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The country initially adopted visa-free travel at the end of 2023 for Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
The latest decision puts Portugal at a marked disadvantage when it comes to access to the territory of the world’s second-largest economy.
Speaking to the Lusa yesterday, Portuguese ambassador in Beijing Paulo Nascimento, said he “doesn’t understand” the criteria that led Chinese authorities to exclude this country.
Mr Nascimento acknowledged that China has the right to decide its visa policy autonomously but says he will be asking “for a specific consultation on this decision.
“I don’t believe that there is negative discrimination here, in the sense of saying that China is doing this to signal something to Portugal, I don’t think that’s the case,” he said.
“But I can’t understand the criteria.”
Questioned by Lusa, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China “has always been open to expanding people-to-people exchanges with foreign countries” and that it is willing to strengthen communication with Lisbon to “increase the ease of bilateral people-to-people exchanges.”
In a written response, the ministry gave no further details or explanation for yesterday’s decision.
President of the PorCham* business group João Pedro Pereira, told Lusa he believes the visa exemption policy will soon include Portugal.
“The information we have is that the procedural process for this issue will also include Portugal (…) and if it does, the inclusion will be a very positive measure for Portuguese companies and entrepreneurs.”
China’s adoption of a visa-free policy for nationals of several countries, which also includes Malaysia and Singapore, comes after an 80% drop in foreign direct investment in the country in 2023 compared to 2022 and a 60% reduction in the number of visitors last year compared to 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beijing adopted a “zero cases” policy for Covid-19, which was in force for almost three years before being abandoned for its lack of results. Under the strategy, the country kept its borders virtually closed: those arriving from abroad had to quarantine for up to 21 days in government-designated hotels, while the number of flights to the country was reduced to 2% compared to the period before the pandemic.
China has taken other measures this year to boost the number of visitors to the country. Digital wallets WeChat Pay and Alipay announced last July that their payment systems are available to foreign users visiting the country who sometimes have difficulty making payments and using certain services.
Chinese relations with Portugal however soured somewhat last year following Portugal’s decision to follow other EU countries in banning foreign technology from its 5G network.
Source material: LUSA
*PorCham Greater China describes itself as a formal platform for Luso-Chinese corporations, professionals and entrepreneurs, to connect, share resources and build a community of support in the People’s Republic of China.
