Foreign arrivals in China surge in third quarter, fuelled by visa-free policy

BEIJING – Foreign arrivals to China continued to rise in the third quarter, with visa-free arrivals reaching 8.99 million, according to the country’s National Immigration Administration (NIA).China’s immigration authorities handled 192 million cross-border trips from July to September, up 7.9% year-on-year, Lyu Ning, the administration’s spokeswoman, said at a news conference on Oct 20.Of the total, 95.96 million trips were made by mainland residents, 73.14 million by residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and 23.27 million by foreign nationals, representing year-on-year increases of 7.4%, 6.4% and 15.6%, respectively.Lyu said measures such as visa-free policies aimed at facilitating exchanges between Chinese and foreign nationals had helped drive cross-border travel to successive record highs.During the period, foreign nationals made 11.6 million trips to China, up 15.6% year-on-year.Visa-free arrivals accounted for 77.5% of all foreign arrivals, up 24.1 percentage points from a year earlier.The top 10 countries of origin for foreign arrivals were Russia, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States, Mongolia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Australia.Meanwhile, mainland residents made 48.5 million outbound trips in the third quarter, up 7.5% year-on-year.Their top 10 destinations were the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia and Indonesia, according to the NIA.During the quarter, the immigration authorities issued 5.34 million ordinary passports and processed 28.79 million applications for travel permits and endorsements for mainland residents travelling to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.They also issued 473,000 mainland travel permits for residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as 603,000 visas and other entry documents for foreign nationals.Following the implementation of the State Council’s new regulations on exit and entry administration on Sept 15, the immigration authorities nationwide began registering agencies and individuals providing exit-entry intermediary services in accordance with the regulations.As of Oct 19, more than 1,200 agencies and nearly 6,000 individuals had completed the registration process, Lyu said.She added that the immigration authorities had maintained strong enforcement against crimes undermining border management, adopting a full-chain approach to combating such offences to safeguard national security and maintain order in exit-entry administration.Nationwide, the immigration authorities investigated 4,432 such cases and apprehended more than 12,000 suspects during the quarter.They also cracked down on illegal activities and crimes involving firearms and explosives, drug trafficking and smuggling at ports and along the borders, seizing 1,880kg of drugs and 402 firearms, Lyu said. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK