Post by : Badri Ariffin

Photo: AFP

China has started a new visa policy called the “ASEAN visa” for people from Southeast Asian countries. This new visa is specially made for business travelers from the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and Timor-Leste, which is an ASEAN observer.

The countries included in this visa are:

Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste

People from these countries, along with their spouses and children, can apply for the ASEAN visa if they are coming to China for business reasons.

This special visa will allow them to:

• Enter China multiple times

• Use the visa for up to 5 years

• Stay in China for up to 180 days per visit

The goal of this visa is to make travel easier and to help more people from China and Southeast Asia visit each other for work and business. A spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, said that this will help grow strong ties between China and these countries.

China already has visa-free travel agreements with some ASEAN countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. For example, Singaporean and Chinese citizens can already travel to each other’s countries without a visa for up to 30 days.

In addition to the ASEAN visa, China also started the Lancang-Mekong visa in November 2024. This gives business people from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam the same 5-year, multiple-entry visa with a 180-day stay each time.

China is also trying to attract tourists from around the world. On June 1, China allowed citizens from some Latin American countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay to visit without a visa. China has also recently opened visa-free access to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

In the first three months of this year, more than 9 million people from other countries visited China, which is 40% more than last year during the same time.

According to Lin Jian, all of these changes show China’s strong interest in welcoming more people, making travel easier, and helping the world’s economy grow through more connections.

China says it will keep improving its visa rules and add more countries to its visa-free list in the future. This way, more people can come and see the rich culture and services that China offers.