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Beijing expands visa-free travel as foreign tourist arrivals hit highs
In the first half of 2026, foreign-national arrivals rose 20.6% year over year, with 17.8 million entering without a visa, or 77.7% of the total.
Beijing is leaning on wider visa-free access to draw more foreign visitors, a shift the Guardian frames as part of a broader effort to reshape China’s external engagement.
The outlet says Beijing expanded its visa-free policy, including 30-day visa-free entry for ordinary passport holders from 50 countries starting in 2023, with most G7 members included except the United States. It also highlights an upgraded 240-hour visa-free transit rule that lets eligible travelers from 55 countries, including the US, spend up to 10 days in large parts of China while continuing to a third destination.
According to the Guardian, the approach is already showing up in border data. In the first half of 2026, entries and exits across China’s borders reached a historic high, with foreign-national arrivals up 20.6% from a year earlier.
The Guardian adds that the policy has an economic rationale amid pressure on domestic consumption, but also argues it carries political significance beyond tourism, positioning the change as encouraging direct observation of China by visitors.