China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) chose 28 February to publish its 2025 National Economic and Social Development communiqué – and the headline figure for the global-mobility community leapt off the page. A record-breaking 30.08 million foreign nationals entered the Mainland last year under one of the country’s visa-free channels, a jump of 49.5 % year-on-year. The number is the clearest evidence yet that Beijing’s post-pandemic shift from tight border controls to proactive travel facilitation is paying dividends. Behind the growth lies a patchwork of overlapping initiatives. In 2024 China more than doubled its unilateral 30-day visa-waiver list, started rolling extensions through 2026, and stretched its 72-/144-hour transit rules to 240 hours at 60 ports. Business travellers now routinely plan week-long factory inspections or trade-fair visits without ever filing a visa application, while tourists use the six-day transit window to combine China with regional itineraries.
![China Reports 49.5 % Surge in Visa-Free Entries During 2025]()
For those occasions when a visa is still required, VisaHQ can shoulder the administrative load. The company’s dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checking and real-time status updates, enabling mobility managers and individual travellers alike to secure Z, J, student or tourist visas with minimal hassle.
Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou immigration authorities say more than 70 % of short-stay visitors now clear passport control via facial-recognition e-gates introduced alongside an online arrival-card system. The benefits are being felt far beyond tourism. Event organisers report a 32 % rise in international delegate registrations for 2026’s first-quarter conferences; universities in the Yangtze River Delta say spring-semester exchange enrolment is at its highest since 2019. Corporates are also seizing the momentum: a leading European auto-parts supplier told People’s Daily it cut average trip-planning lead times from three weeks to five days, allowing engineers to “parachute in, fix problems and fly out” under the transit scheme. Practical advice for mobility managers is straightforward. First, confirm whether your employee’s nationality sits on the 46-country unilateral list or the 55-country transit list, because permissible length of stay and required onward tickets differ. Second, instruct travellers to complete the digital arrival card before departure and keep proof of accommodation handy – spot checks have increased as volumes rise. Finally, remind staff that work, journalism and long-term assignments still require the appropriate Z, J or study visas. With inbound numbers now outpacing most pre-pandemic quarters, industry analysts expect China to push ahead with further visa liberalisation ahead of the 2026 Asian Games in Shenzhen. The message from Beijing on 28 February was unambiguous: easing mobility is now a pillar of the country’s economic strategy, not a temporary stimulus.
For those occasions when a visa is still required, VisaHQ can shoulder the administrative load. The company’s dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checking and real-time status updates, enabling mobility managers and individual travellers alike to secure Z, J, student or tourist visas with minimal hassle.
Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou immigration authorities say more than 70 % of short-stay visitors now clear passport control via facial-recognition e-gates introduced alongside an online arrival-card system. The benefits are being felt far beyond tourism. Event organisers report a 32 % rise in international delegate registrations for 2026’s first-quarter conferences; universities in the Yangtze River Delta say spring-semester exchange enrolment is at its highest since 2019. Corporates are also seizing the momentum: a leading European auto-parts supplier told People’s Daily it cut average trip-planning lead times from three weeks to five days, allowing engineers to “parachute in, fix problems and fly out” under the transit scheme. Practical advice for mobility managers is straightforward. First, confirm whether your employee’s nationality sits on the 46-country unilateral list or the 55-country transit list, because permissible length of stay and required onward tickets differ. Second, instruct travellers to complete the digital arrival card before departure and keep proof of accommodation handy – spot checks have increased as volumes rise. Finally, remind staff that work, journalism and long-term assignments still require the appropriate Z, J or study visas. With inbound numbers now outpacing most pre-pandemic quarters, industry analysts expect China to push ahead with further visa liberalisation ahead of the 2026 Asian Games in Shenzhen. The message from Beijing on 28 February was unambiguous: easing mobility is now a pillar of the country’s economic strategy, not a temporary stimulus.
