[0:01]has the Western propaganda campaign against China failed? Foreign or international visitor numbers, let me say, are skyrocketing during the first half of the year.
[0:13]Beijing saw a year-on-year increase of 37% or Shanghai's Pudong International Airport alone saw a surge of 46% of international visits.
[0:24]The more the uh, Marriott. This built on the upward trend that started to gain momentum last year after China relaxed the visa requirements unilaterally for international visitors.
[0:38]So, what's fueling the sudden China travel rush? What can we expect going forward and what remains to be done to make China more accessible?
[0:50]Welcome to The Point, an opinion show coming to you live from Beijing. I'm Liu Xin, and pleased to be joined from Niseko, Japan by Justin Downes, President of Access Leisure Management.
[1:03]From Rome, Italy, Ivan Cardillo, Chairman of Italy-China Business Development Forum.
[1:10]From Lima, Peru, by Jose Carlos Feliciano, Deputy Director of the Center for China and Asia Pacific Studies at the University of the Pacific.
[1:19]And here in the studio by Professor Liu Baocheng, Dean of the Center for International Business Ethics at the University of International Business and Economics.
[1:29]Gentlemen, welcome to The Point. First of all, let's take a look at exactly how many people are visiting China.
[1:36]As I mentioned, for the first half of this year, Beijing, the ports in Beijing saw an year-on-year increase of international entry and exits by 37%.
[1:51]That's a total of 2.9 million trips. While Shanghai's Pudong International Airport saw a surge of 46%, almost 50% of foreign visits, the total number reaching around 5 million.
[2:04]Justin, are these numbers surprising to you? How significant are these numbers to you?
[2:12]I'm not surprised at all, actually. I mean, this is almost 8 million people just in two ports for the first half of the year alone.
[2:20]So, I think it's a very clear sign that China has become interesting again for international travelers.
[2:28]I think it shows that China's tourism is recovering, and it's not just happening, it's actually accelerating, right?
[2:34]So, I think if this trend continues for the next, uh, well, for the next 12 months, we'll be well ahead of the pre-COVID, pre-COVID numbers.
[2:40]So, I think all of these things like, uh, enhanced, uh, visa policy and just the ease of traveling and increased, uh, uh, air demand, uh, and supply by the airlines is, is fueling all of this. It's just become easier again.
[2:54]Ivan Cardillo, um, you have lived in China for, uh, quite some time for years and you're in and out of China very frequently.
[3:00]How do you look at this number in the trajectory that we've seen over the past five years, let's say, first, the COVID, where international visitors and the people, uh, expats in China were at a historic low and now we're kind of rebounding very fast?
[3:19]Yes, numbers are very, uh, encouraging. The trend is growing and, uh, people are also exploring more and more other cities.
[3:26]What we call the second tier cities and so there is an increasing demand in, you know, getting deeper experience of China. Uh, you mentioned numbers about, uh, Pudong International Airport, but there are more and more foreigners visiting cities like Chengdu and, uh, also Guahan.
[3:43]And so, I see these as a good signal because it's a way of engaging China, Chinese society also at a different level and also from different perspectives.
[3:59]One thing that actually stood out is the increased interaction between China and, uh, countries that are originally not so much looking to their Chinese travels.
[4:10]And, uh, Jose Carlos Feliciano, from your part of the world, Lima, Peru, for instance, have you picked up a growing interest in China, in travel to China and the discussions that people in your part of the world are having,
[4:26]um, what's fueling this, this picked up interest if there is such a trend?
[4:32]Yeah, uh, some months ago, um, China, uh, free policy reached to five, uh, countries here in South America.
[4:40]Uh, so this, uh, notice, uh, actually really, uh, created a lot of buzz in regards of the interest of the people to travel to China.
[4:50]Um, so right now, for instance, in Peruvians, uh, are, uh, they, they can get up to 30 days, uh, for free visa in China.
[5:01]And this for sure will increase the number of tourists and, um, business, uh, visits, um, especially in terms of short business visits, right?
[5:10]Right now, like we are, uh, seeing a lot of promotion in terms of, uh, business, uh, traveling and also business fairs in China.
[5:20]So, in the next months, I think like a lot of, uh, businessmen from this region, uh, especially from Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, uh, they will definitely choose China as a destination, uh, for the first time and, of course, also to do, uh, business, uh, with these short visits.
[5:40]Just now, um, many of my guests mentioned actually the visa policies.
[5:44]So, exactly, what policies are in place, it's actually not, um, so obvious yet.
[5:51]So, let's review what kind of policies China has put in place. In December 2023, China extended visa-free access to citizens from six countries, making that seven in total.
[6:05]And the six countries included France, Germany, Italy, some European countries, and these nationals from these countries are exempt from visa requirements when entering China for business, tourism, family visits and cultural exchange, and so on and so forth.
[6:18]In the beginning, it was only for about two weeks, and now that's been extended to up to 30 days.
[6:24]Over the course of last year, China added a further 31 countries to the list including Switzerland, Ireland, and Hungary, and the list continues to grow this year,
[6:36]um, to extend to nine other countries, making it 47 in total. That include Brazil, Chile, as my Peruvian friend just mentioned, and also to Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia.
[6:50]So, these nationals from these countries can come to China. Meanwhile, there's another scheme, which is transit, uh, visa-free scheme.
[6:58]China has optimized that as well. Today, nationals from a total of 55 countries can take advantage of this policy to stay in China up to 10 days, 240 hours, visa-free before heading to their final destination.
[7:14]Um, Professor Liu, how much have these policies made it easier for people to come to China? And what does that say about the intention of Chinese authorities in terms of international, uh, dialogue and exchanges?
[7:29]I think fundamentally it shows that China continues to open its door and welcome international visitors for business, for leisure, for cultural exchange, academic exchanges.
[7:40]And, uh, uh, this really, uh, sounds to be rather technical, but it's very helpful, particularly for those who wanted to discover or rediscover China and what is going on over there.
[7:55]And, uh, uh, this, uh, gave them the, uh, quite a relief, uh, in terms of the, uh, looking for access, uh, into China, uh, with, uh, all the long visa applications.
[8:04]Actually, we have, uh, a number of experiences, you know, hesitating whether we're going to visit certain countries when the visa is, uh, uh, the, uh, unpredictable, or at least, uh, you know, where we are going to see quite a delay.
[8:19]So, uh, this, uh, it does really give them, uh, a very positive signal. And the other is that, uh, the duty-free shops, uh, and, uh, the, uh, tax refund is also very encouraging for people to come here and buy some, uh, made in China and, uh, uh, then take advantage of the, uh, price scheme with such sort of policy.
[8:44]And then, uh, you know, with that, actually, uh, you know, more of those those, uh, hospitality amenities are really being made available.
[8:54]So, uh, this, uh, really are there to combine to help the, uh, to alleviate some of the apprehension and then to give them the total satisfaction of the comfort, uh, visiting, uh, China.
[9:08]And I think one more very important thing is Chinese economy, because, uh, many people, uh, they come here, they may be, uh, you know, simply for tourist, but, uh, many of them are really, uh, wrapped, uh, the, uh, modable type of purpose, uh, you know, engaging with China.
[9:23]So, Chinese economy by 5% uh, growth is, uh, doubles of the whole road average. So, this gave them ample opportunities to look what it would be the, uh, opportunities for, uh, for collaboration, for entrepreneurship, and for some other types of engagement, even for the young people to engage in the e-commerce.
[9:43]So, this is very encouraging. Yeah. Indeed, there's a lot to, to unravel there.
[9:48]Um, but Justin, let's, let's look at the, the individuals that are making these plans.
[9:56]Uh, just now Professor Liu mentioned the word apprehension. What is your experience? What prevents China from making that, what prevents visitors from making that final decision say, okay, China is far away, the tickets are expensive, but I am going to make that adventure.
[10:14]Well, the the silly thing is is that their biggest concern is is, can I access my Facebook or my Instagram while I'm, uh, while I'm, while I'm in, in, in China.
[10:20]And the simple answer to that, which they're often surprised about is yes, you can. Um, so, you can access these, these, uh, these apps and things, these social media systems if you're still roaming on an international phone, so that's that's that's easy.
[10:29]Uh, you can access VPNs, these things are accessible. So, these barriers that they think, okay, I'm going to be censored and I'm going to be blocked and I'm not going to be able to communicate with the rest of the world.
[10:41]We just need to let them know that that's that's no longer an issue. They're concerned about language, um, and how they're going to communicate.
[10:53]As we already know in the first, the first tier cities, you know, Beijing, Shanghai, for example, everything is easily, menus are in, in English or there's pictures, the subway is in English, you have translation apps work.
[11:03]The second and the third tier cities, as we said, you know, they're they're a little bit more of a challenge and that's where perhaps the, uh, the the the central government can focus on trying to improve these highly, uh, interesting cities, uh, but still are not user-friendly for English speakers.
[11:15]Um, but I do really think that China has made leaps and bounds and it's it's so far ahead of where it was, uh, before COVID.
[11:25]Um, I think people will be surprised and one of the one of the key things is is that the government, I think has made a conscious decision to do is the message message that is sending out about visiting China is not being controlled through now through traditional media channels.
[11:34]So the K O L S and the live streaming and all of these types of things people now really can see that this is a real authentic experience.
[11:41]This is the real view and this is it's it's really lowering people's hesitation because now people can see what it's really like, authentic experiences.
[11:49]Um, so this is exactly, you know, what's going to happen and that's why these numbers, you know, are showing that now, uh, 8 million people so far have come for this half of the year.
[11:58]Well, let me also add my fresh experience, the, uh, a month ago, we had a Zoom conference with numerous scholars in Europe, from Switzerland to, uh, France. And, uh, uh, they said, okay, how do I, uh, they ask me, how do I visit China?
[12:05]Now, I just, well, you check with the embassy or simply hit on the net, there's a visa-free. This is for them is really mind-blowing. So, therefore, you know, I, last week, I received all of them here.
[12:12]So, therefore, they just, uh, and they, uh, all of them would say they travel from Beijing to Wuhan and then to many other cities.
[12:21]So, the, the, uh, this is really something that's, uh, uh, beyond their expectation. So, this, uh, uh, is really something that's refreshing and give people, uh, more of the, uh, I think the spread of the message with the word of mouth because they are all very influential people back at home.
[12:40]Yeah. Well, um, Ivan, um, is that the experience that you have? Actually China has gone through a lot of changes. China has, you know, uh, taken huge steps in terms of opening up.
[12:53]If you compare to the past, we have to go to the embassy or you have to mail in your application, it takes time, it's expensive, quite expensive, I would say.
[13:00]And, uh, it's just, uh, very scary and now, all of a sudden, what? You can just go.
[13:07]I mean, people seem not to have made that kind of connection yet. Ivan, is that your impression? What can be done to let more people know that China is accessible? You can do it.
[13:21]Yes, it's, um, now people can think about, you know, spending a long weekend in China by last minute ticket.
[13:32]Go. Uh, the digitalization of the society has been presenting as, uh, a milestone or a great achievement in the modernization of the country. And in my perspective, this can be a double-edged sword, like, how can I do without WeChat?
[13:46]Can I survive? How should I use DD, or what can I do like to move like, will I be able to find a taxi? I remember the first time I went to China, it was like 20 years ago, you can stop a taxi on the street, you know, raise your hand and get a car.
[14:00]I was joking, of course. No, they're all busy, they're all, you know, they they just pass by. So you need to know ways to connect.
[14:12]And, uh, so in this perspective, the Chinese government is taking care also of foreigners and they, they challenge us, like, for example, the use of cash.
[14:20]Now, the Chinese government is requiring hotels and restaurants to keep receiving cash and keep also accepting foreign credit cards, so it's not just only AliPay, you know, Gifu Bao, or WeChat. They still need to use those other more, let's say, traditional, conventional ways to support travelers.
[14:38]On the other hand, uh, I see a big effort because we see like Alipay, no, English version of the app, DD also is having an English version of the app.
[14:48]Uh, also, you can link a foreign, uh, credit card to Alipay, and that is, uh, extremely convenient. Uh, what I see like a still a challenge sometimes is to connect WeChat.
[15:02]Like sometimes you need to go through a foreign ID verification process, and that might, might be, you know, a kind of annoying because sometimes it might take up to 24 hours.
[15:13]So, if you're just there for a transit, it's not really convenient. So, but for that, so there is like room for for improvement. Also to, uh, you know, still, uh, you know, like there are so many apps now have their own translation systems, so it's really easy, you know, for people who cannot speak the language to communicate.
[15:37]Yeah. Yeah, okay. I get you already have a lot of information in your answer. All of these names, right? The apps and, uh, the, the, the, the, the language ability that's necessary, or the ability to use smart technologies such as translation apps, is clearly not, uh, easy for everybody.
[15:59]Jose Carlos Feliciano, how what is your, uh, observation of the kind of mindset, of the kind of readiness people need to, um, prepare themselves before they embark on a trip on China? And what is the key to the success of navigating the totally different, uh, digital systems that China is very much developed in?
[16:12]Yes, um, I think, uh, for me, it's since we're also based in the university, right? Our center, um, encourage students also to, to do research and to travel to different destinations, including China.
[16:26]So, for instance, this, uh, visa-free policy that China has, uh, towards Peruvian, it's also boosting the, the participation, for instance, of some of our students in summer courses, right?
[16:38]And since these summer courses are less than 30 days, uh, students from our university are taking part of this in, in, in Beijing, in, in Tsinghua University, in Shanghai University, so I, I do hope that more and more students and more young people have the chance to see China.
[16:53]Great. What's what's what's that your university? Also University of International Business and Economics. That's my promotion. It's well-deserved.
[17:03]Professor Liu, before we wrap up, um, going forward, you from your understanding of what's on the mind of Chinese policy makers, will the policy intensify in the next 5, 10 years?
[17:15]You know, do we see a certainty and is there going to be greater openness to address the issues such as the one that Justin alluded to?
[17:24]Definitely, uh, we are very much committed and resolved to move forward, uh, broadly speaking, uh, for the open door policy and, uh, also to have, uh, rule of law-based the institutional opening.
[17:40]So, uh, this is something that we're never going to reverse. And, uh, I think, more importantly, when China is really converging, uh, from the, uh, the production-based one to innovation-based one, uh, in terms of the economic paradigm,
[17:55]we're going to attract, uh, more of the people to, uh, engage with China in the whole high-quality development program.
[18:05]And, uh, when we are also elevating our educational curricula, so, therefore, more of the foreign students are expected to come back and also to increase.
[18:17]And so, the, uh, you know, with all the infrastructure, uh, that is on rapid improvement and, uh, so the this is really going to give a very fresh and, uh, also the rewarding experience to international travelers.
[18:30]Well, a bit more open-mindedness, patience, and, uh, look around, there are services available, we just have to look for them for the time being.
[18:40]But, uh, um, thank you so much. We have to leave it there.
[18:43]Justin Downes, Ivan Cardillo, Jose Carlos Feliciano, and Professor Liu Baocheng joining us from different parts of the world. Thank you so much for your insights. And with that, we come to the end of this edition of The Point with me Liu Xin.
[18:56]As always, you can follow me on Facebook and X using the handle Liu Xin in Beijing. On behalf of the team, thank you for watching, you've got The Point.
