Friends of Socialist China Britain Committee Secretary David Peat recently attended a London event organised by the Chinese National Tourism Office (CNTO) and industry partners celebrating and raising awareness of the Chinese government’s recent policy change allowing British passport holders to visit the People’s Republic of China for tourism or business purposes visa-free for up to 30 days. In the article below David explains how the policy works and how China’s tourism strategy is a fitting and effective way for the country to celebrate its successes and show the world how its system is working to improve its citizens’ lives—a living and vibrant contrast to the increasing chaos and declining living standards in the Western world.
The recent viral phenomenon of “Chinamaxxing”—in which Westerners, increasingly exposed to less biased content highlighting the reality of everyday life in China, are expressing their excitement and admiration of aspects of Chinese culture (see the upcoming online seminar on the topic, organised by Friends of Socialist China)—is set to receive a further boost in Britain as it has just recently joined the group of countries whose citizens can visit the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without requiring a visa, allowing more and more people to conveniently see the country’s achievements for themselves.
The new policy came into effect on February 17 and allows UK passport holders to visit the country for the purposes of “business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes.” Britain joins around 50 other countries, including most of Europe, Canada, Japan, and many others, to which China has offered a unilateral visa-free policy,[1] alongside around 30 countries with which China has bilateral agreements. All part of the Communist Party of China’s strategy to facilitate people-people connection and show the world a “more open, accessible China.”[2]
Continue reading See China’s achievements for yourself – Britain’s visa-free travel to China explained
