ECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL BENEFITS
Analysts point out that there are clear economic aims to China’s post-pandemic visa-free policy as a protracted property downturn, mounting local government debt and a shrinking workforce weigh on the world’s second-largest economy.
“Foreign tourists’ spending represents net input in the economic system, and the multiplier effect is relatively large for tourism to drive other related sectors,” said Prof Huang.
Increased inbound tourism, facilitated by China’s visa-free manoeuvres, can boost consumption and stimulate the economy, said Associate Professor Yong Chen, who teaches at EHL Hospitality Business School in Switzerland.
“As China’s economy advances, the proportion of services in the economy increases, and the competitiveness of service industries in the international market hinges on their ability to attract and serve foreign tourists,” he told CNA.
But Assoc Prof Chen also pointed out that China’s unilateral visa-free pledges have a deadline. For instance, the commitments with European nations such as France, Germany and Italy are slated to cease at the end of 2025.
“This policy is meant to be a catalyst, not a long-term institutional arrangement, for resurrecting business, trade, and tourism disrupted by the pandemic and geopolitics.
“Tourism is a feasible and easy solution to this problem. A long-term visa arrangement is far more complicated and hence not feasible,” he added.
Assoc Prof Chen noted too that the countries granted unilateral visa-free access are not “major source markets” for China due to their small populations and geographical distance.
At the same time, observers say there is a geopolitical dimension to China’s moves amid a troubled external environment – from heightened tensions with the West, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza and a recent violent confrontation in the South China Sea.
China’s visa-free policy could reassure the international community of Beijing’s “persistent commitment” to opening up for business, trade, and tourism, noted Assoc Prof Chen.
“International tourists play a pivotal role in relaying such commitment to the outside world through their own experience in China. The bottom-up policy through tourism is imperative because top-down diplomacy between governments may not resume anytime soon,” he said.
Prof Huang from Edith Cowan University suggested that China is taking a “smart diplomacy” approach through its visa waiver selection. The latest inclusions to the list are set to be Australia and New Zealand, which both have close links to the US.
“Visa-free policies would encourage people-to-people exchanges and intercultural understandings between countries … I believe (they) serve the overall purpose of China’s grand diplomatic strategies,” he told CNA.
Searches by New Zealand tourists for China-related keywords surged by 65 per cent the day after the visa waiver announcement, according to Trip.com as reported by Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.
Concurrently, New Zealand has become a popular spot for Chinese tourists during the summer, the report added. “As of June 14, air ticket bookings from China to New Zealand have more than doubled year-on-year,” an employee of Chinese online travel platform Qunar told CGTN.
“Cities such as Auckland, Queenstown, Christchurch, and Wellington are highly popular among Chinese tourists, with bookings for related tourism products tripling year-on-year,” the person added.
