The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced that it will make it easier for overseas business travelers to apply for landing visas, including those wanting to visit China for business meetings, exhibitions or investment but are unable to secure a visa before their trip. Previously, such applications could only be made on “emergency” grounds. Upon arrival at a Chinese border post, foreign businesspeople will only need to present a letter of invitation and supporting documents from a Chinese entity to obtain an entry visa. After entry, frequent travelers will be able to upgrade their on-arrival visa to a multiple-entry one valid for up to three years.
Jia Tongbin, an official at the National Immigration Administration (NIA), said the changes were urgently needed and in the interests of stable industrial and supply chains. “The move will help domestic firms seize opportunities, secure orders, and expand in international markets,” Jia said. Foreign nationals would also no longer have to surrender their passports when applying for residence permits in China, a change that Jia said would benefit at least 700,000 foreign residents. This will allow them to conduct transactions for which presentation of a passport is required – such as some bank transactions – while their application is being processed.
Jens Eskelund, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the new visa measures were “a welcome step in the right direction” and, if realized in a timely manner, would address some inefficiencies experienced by the foreign business community. “These measures by themselves will not be sufficient to restore business travel to pre-pandemic levels, nor to restore China’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign talent,” Eskelund said. “For this to happen, other issues related to the business environment and general conditions for foreign companies – including the lack of transparency and predictability of China’s policy environment – will also need to be addressed.”
Peng Peng, Executive Chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank affiliated with the provincial government, agreed, saying that “while facilitating residency, visas and residence permits can certainly make it easier for people to move around, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee profitability for everyone involved”.
China will also relax a wide range of other social controls. The guidelines released by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) are the latest in a series of far-reaching policy adjustments in recent weeks. In a 26-point package of measures, the Ministry said it would also loosen the household registration system to help secure supply chains and encourage job creation. In addition, the guidelines commit authorities to make a range of government services more accessible across jurisdictions, particularly in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
He Wenlin, the Ministry’s Deputy Director of Research, said the changes were designed to promote the “free movement” of people, vehicles, information and data, and officials would strive to turn the guidelines into action by the end of this month. Requirements for individuals to obtain an urban hukou, or household registration, will be relaxed to enable more skilled rural residents to live and work in cities. At present, the distinction between urban and rural dwellers limits the movement of the population. The system denies migrant workers fair access to social services and deters them from spending more. Spending by the country's 1.4 billion consumers is key to the central government’s efforts to foster economic growth as the population shrinks and the country confronts an increasingly unfavorable geopolitical climate.
Aiming to stabilize foreign investment and trade during the second half of the year, the Politburo of the Communist Party said in July that China would step up its economic policy adjustment to boost domestic demand, increase confidence and defuse risks while easing pressure on the property sector. Three weeks ago, the central government issued a 31-point plan to promote the country’s private economy to become “bigger, better and stronger”, commitments that had been limited to the state-owned sector. Last week, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) also released a 20-point plan to restore and expand consumer spending.
The package from the Ministry of Public Security also includes steps to boost spending on consumer goods such as electric and second-hand cars, to relax rules on driving license exams, and to enable pilot programs to set up security service companies. In addition, the Ministry will encourage mutual recognition of services such as public security, household registration, traffic management, and immigration within regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area. Ding Shuang, Chief Greater China Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said the package was part of a long-term plan to stimulate the Chinese economy. The measures might not yield immediate results but recent policy moves would benefit public sentiment, he said. “At some point, as the market consistently receives news of policy easing, it might shift people’s expectations and gradually bolster market confidence,” he said, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
