Beijing, Sept. 30, 2024 (Lusa) - China announced on Monday that it will extend its visa-free policy to Portuguese citizens for stays of up to 15 days, thus adding Portugal to a list that already includes 16 other European countries.

The extension, which was confirmed in a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, comes after Beijing in recent weeks included Norway, Slovenia, Greece, Denmark and Cyprus in the list of countries whose citizens can stay in the Asian country for tourism, business or transit for 15 days without a visa.

The measure comes into force on 15 October and runs until 31 December 2025.

Beijing is trying to stimulate international tourism and foreign investment, paralysed by the Covid-19 pandemic, during which China imposed an almost total closure of its borders.

Last November, the Asian country announced that nationals of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain would benefit from a unilateral visa waiver. In March, it extended the policy for stays of up to 15 days to six more European countries - Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg.

In recent months, China has adopted several measures to help international travellers.

Digital wallets WeChat Pay and Alipay are ubiquitous in China, where physical cash has all but disappeared. They have made their payment systems available to foreign users visiting the country, who sometimes find it difficult to use certain services.

Foreigners visiting China in the first half of 2024 more than doubled to 14.64 million, equivalent to a 153% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Data from the Asian country's National Immigration Administration revealed that visa-free entries exceeded 8.5 million, representing 58% of trips and an increase of 190% on the previous year.

However, the number of foreigners is still below pre-pandemic records, when around 15 million people visited China annually.

JPI/ADB // ADB.

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