As China’s opening up to the rest of the world continues, Australia and New Zealand are to become the latest countries to benefit from visa-free travel for their citizens.
“China is ready to discuss with New Zealand to introduce more measures to facilitate two-way travel,” announced Li Qiang, Prime Minister of China, during a meeting in Wellington with its New Zealand counterpart.
Shortly after, an official visit by Qiang to neighbouring Australia was livened up by another declaration and the revelation of a similar agreement between Australia and the People’s Republic.
The Chinese side will include Australia in its unilateral visa waiver program. pic.twitter.com/plRZ4hmtl2
— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) June 17, 2024
“We agreed to provide each other with reciprocal access to five-year multiple entry visas for tourism, business, and visiting family members to better facilitate personal exchanges. China will also include Australia in its visa waiver program,” Qiang said.
Will Qantas now U-turn?
The loosening comes just a month after Australian flag carrier Qantas told Skift “getting out of China” was “the right call” due to fierce domestic competition in the Chinese aviation sector and many Qantas flights remaining only half occupied due to mismatched supply and demand.
Qantas needed to be “nimble” and ensure “return on capital where we deploy it” CEO Cam Wallace said. Unless the visa news now changes the airline’s mind about potential demand, when the Qantas Sydney-Shanghai route ends in July, Qantas will only serve Hong Kong in China, leaving nine other players in the mainland Chinese-Australian market, all of them Chinese.
Meanwhile six airlines serve routes, including eight direct, between New Zealand China; just one of them is a Kiwi carrier.
Worldwide agreements
Since China began strategically reconnecting with the outside world, Australia and New Zealand are the 13th and 14th countries in a growing list of nations whose passport holders can enjoy up to 15 days in China visa-free, for tourism, business, family visits, or transit purposes, until 2025.
In addition, Singapore and Thailand recently signed 30-day visa waiver agreements with China, meaning their citizens are able to make almost month-long trips without the burden of visa paperwork and waits. The USA has also seen bureaucratic requirements for its nationals wishing to visit China eased, and even those arriving by cruise ship had a boost this spring when China lifted visa requirements, giving them up to 15 days to visit the Republic.
52 other nations enjoy so-called “72/144-Hour Visa-Free Transit” through certain cities, including trips taking in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai, and Guangdong.