SFC Markets and Finance｜144-Hour Visa-Free: Guangdong Welcomes Foreign Travelers with New Policies

南方财经全媒体记者杨雨莱 广州报道

On July 25th, "The Promotional Conference on Business and Travel Activities in Guangdong for Foreigners" is being held in Guangzhou, introducing a series of “convenient” policies for foreigners.

The first to be noticed is the improved convenience of entry and exit for foreigners. Starting from May 1st, Guangdong province has officially implemented a 144-hour visa-free transit policy for foreigners, allowing travelers from 54 countries, including France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, and more, to enter China without a visa.

"In the first half of this year, we issued a total of 5,193 temporary entry permits for 144 hours at Baiyun Airport. More than 5,000 people from over 40 countries entered Guangdong through the 144-hour visa-free transit policy, which is a 60.7% increase compared to the same period in 2019," said Zhou Yingqiang, Director of the Guangzhou Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station and Second-Level Inspector.

Tatia Grigalashvili, the Head Manager of the International Department at Georgian Belt and Road Business House, told an SFC journalist that she has witnessed more Georgians coming to China and more Chinese visiting Georgia. She considers the 144-hour visa-free transit policy to have a beneficial two-sided influence.

Apart from the 144-hour visa-free transit policy, there is more good news regarding e-payment facilitation.

Regarding WeChat Pay, bank cards issued by the world's five major card organizations are now supported for binding with WeChat Pay. Foreigners entering Guangdong can make payments at all merchants that support WeChat Pay through mobile payments. WeChat Pay is also continuously optimizing the experience for foreigners using its service, focusing on improving the registration and card-binding process for foreigners based on user feedback, and exploring various real-name authentication methods to lower the barrier for foreigners to use WeChat Pay.

At present, all WeChat Pay merchants nationwide, including those in Guangdong province, can provide mobile payment services to foreigners. This includes merchants in various sectors such as catering, transportation, supermarkets, hotels, and tourism ticketing. Additionally, a handling fee is waived for foreigners for transactions of single payments of 200 yuan or less.

"I'm expecting a lot more Australians to travel to China, and the information I received today will make it so much easier, particularly with e-commerce payments," said David Chaplin, Deputy Consul-General of the Consulate General of Australia in Guangzhou during an interview with an SFC journalist.

David Chaplin indicated that these policies will not only benefit tourism but also boost communications in many other industries between Australia and China. He cited the EV market in China as an example, suggesting that Australian businessmen can learn and explore a lot from it.

Blandine Cressard, a member of the South China Board of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, shared her thoughts in an interview, stating, "The Chinese market is a huge market. It’s important if you want to expand your company to be in China. China still has a lot of attraction for factories and industries. So I would say business tourism can be expanded, and those measures are really helping to promote that."

The "China Inbound Tourism Development Report (2023-2024)" shows that the inbound market for foreigners in 2024 is expected to recover to 80% of the level in 2019, and the proportion of GDP is expected to increase from 0.5% in 2019 to about 2% in 2024, injecting new vitality into the Chinese economy.

策划：于晓娜

监制：施诗

责任编辑：李依农

记者：杨雨莱 李依农

制作：李群 蔡于恬 

拍摄：肖航

新媒体统筹：丁青云 曾婷芳 赖禧 黄达迅

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 黄子豪 

海外运营编辑：庄欢 吴婉婕 龙李华 张伟韬

出品：南方财经全媒体集团