China Resumes Visa Waiver for Japanese

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced that it would resume waiver policy of short-term visa for Japanese on November 30th. Short stay in China without visa may be available for business trip, with expectation of increase of business opportunities. Current communication between the leaders of Japan and China and economic slump in China seems to have contributed to this softer attitude toward Japan than in the time of sober relationship in the past. 

It would be the first attempt since it ended visa waiver policy in March 2020, when COVID-19 grew to be an international pandemic. China had waivered visa for Japanese travelers for sightseeing or business trip from 2003 to 2020. Doubted as the home country of pandemic, China introduced an extremely strict policy on controlling COVID-19 infection, called Zero Corona Policy.

 

On July 2023, China reopened itself for short stay by foreigners from Singapore and Brunei. The deregulation was extended to the travelers from twenty-nine countries, including France, Germany or Republic of Korea. Business sectors in both Japan and China hoped early lift of regulation for short stay. While the visa had been waived for a stay for fifteen days or shorter before the policy was halted, the term will be extended as long as thirty days.

 

China took advantage of the visa-waiver policy for one of the diplomatic cards against Japan. When Japan decided to discharge processed water from crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in August 2023, China took counter measures, including comprehensive block against Japanese sea products. There was no basis for China to remove regulation against the Japanese on short stay for business.

 

Economy of China did not show apparent resilience even after recovery from the pandemic. Slowdown of Chinese economy is indicated in GDP in the third quarter of 2024, which marked 4.6 percent, declining from 4.7 percent in the previous quarter. Growing frustration of the people in China can be seen current mass killings by reckless driving of car in the cities.

 

It is likely that Chinese government hoped further investment from Japan, when China cannot expect an optimistic future by announcement of President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, that he would impose extremely high tariff on Chinese products. The business sectors in Japan basically welcome China’s decision of deregulation of business trip to China.

 

Hard-lining position against Japan disappeared from economic diplomacy of Beijing. Chinese President, Xi Jinping, expressed his expectation for greater exchange of people between China and Japan in the summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, in Lima, Peru. However, it is still unclear whether China will slow down its advance to South and East China Sea or loosen pressure on Taiwan. 

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