On Monday, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on visa-free travel for Chinese citizens for a period of 30 days. TASR writes about it according to the Reuters agency.
- Putin signed visa-free travel for Chinese citizens for 30 days.
- The rules for visa-free travel with China are valid until September 14, 2026.
- Visa-free travel applies to tourists, businessmen and athletes.
- The measure is intended to support tourism between Russia and China.
- Chinese diplomacy allows visa-free travel for 30 days for ordinary Russians.
According to the presidential decree, the new rules for the visa requirement with China will remain in force until September 14, 2026. It applies to many categories of Chinese citizens, including tourists, businessmen, academics, artists and athletes. They do not apply to labor migrants, long-term students or workers in the logistics and transport sector.
“All this is done to increase tourism and simplify the process for (Chinese) citizens,” said the chairman of the board of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Andrej Bystrickij, to the TASS agency.
“We can confidently say that we can optimistically expect the extension of these Russian and Chinese decrees and regulations,” he added. This is a reaction to the decision of the Chinese diplomacy that from September 15 visa-free travel for up to 30 days for ordinary Russian passport holders is valid for one year.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries shortly before the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Moscow has relied heavily on imports from Beijing to help it overcome Western sanctions.
