China has launched a visa program for the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and observer state East-Timor, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian announced at a press briefing on 3 June 2025.
The ASEAN states are: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. According to Lin, China will issue the “ASEAN Visa” for business visitors who meet the requirements from the 11 countries, as well as their spouses and children. The visa will allow multiple entries for up to five years and offers a maximum stay of 180 days.
Facilitating cross-border work and travel
Lin said that the ASEAN visa has been launched on mutual visa exemption basis for Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as representing a “Lancang-Mekong visa” for Mekong River nations.
The aim of the move is to facilitate cross-border travel within the region, acknowledging how frequently the workforce moves between these states. It would also promote continued progress on “jointly building a common home that features peace, tranquility, prosperity, a beautiful environment, and friendship,” Lin added.
While globalization faces headwinds, #trade between #China and #ASEAN has continued to grow rapidly thanks to close industrial ties. ASEAN remained China's top trade partner in Q1 2025, and the two sides are setting a model for trade cooperation. #PressroomHighlights pic.twitter.com/KVHOgUPnQR
— China SCIO (@chinascio) April 15, 2025
Latin America gains visa free access for first time
Starting June 1, China also launched a trial policy granting unilateral visa-free entry to citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, in what is the first time China has extended such access to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
It has also recently rolled out visa-free access to all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, bringing the total number of nations eligible for unilateral visa-free entry to 43.
The growing list of nations “reflects China’s strong commitment to advancing high-level opening up, while the continuous optimization of measures to facilitate cross-border personnel exchanges underscores the country’s concrete efforts to help build an open world economy,” the spokesperson said.
China has extended visa-free entry to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay on a trial basis from Jun 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. Looking forward to welcoming more friends from #LatinAmerica to China. pic.twitter.com/Srzkw9Gahk
— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) May 15, 2025
Sharing prosperity
In the first quarter of 2025, the number of foreigners entering China exceeded 9 million, an increase of more than 40% year-on-year. In addition, in the year to May, more than 18,000 foreign-invested enterprises started-up in China, up 12.1 percent year on year.
“In the future, China will continue to optimize its entry policies and expand the scope of visa-free countries so that more foreign friends can come to China to experience better product supply, more diverse consumption scenarios and more convenient service guarantees, and share prosperity with other countries through greater openness and deeper cooperation,” Lin said.
