Visa-free policies fuel inbound travel surge

China saw rapid growth in foreign arrivals in the first half of 2026 as the country's expanding visa-free policies fueled inbound travel, while the value of the Chinese passport continued to rise as more countries granted visa-free access to Chinese mainland residents, a spokesman for the National Immigration Administration said on Friday.

China's immigration authorities handled 369 million cross-border trips in the first six months of the year, up 10.8 percent year-on-year and a record high, Lin Yongsheng, the NIA spokesman, said at a news conference.

The total included 45.91 million cross-border trips by foreigners, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier. Among inbound foreign travelers, more than 17.81 million entered visafree, accounting for 77.7 percent of all foreign arrivals and marking a 30.6 percent year-on-year increase, Lin said.

"With the continuous expansion and implementation of the country's unilateral visa-free and transit visafree policies, the number of foreigners entering China has grown rapidly from January to June," he said.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China currently grants unilateral visa-free entry to citizens of 50 countries and offers 240-hour visa-free transit to travelers from 55 countries. The policies have helped fuel the popularity of the "China Travel" trend on overseas social media, attracting more international visitors.

The top 10 source countries for inbound foreign travelers were South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Mongolia and Australia, accounting for 62 percent of all inbound foreign arrivals.

Lin said the value of the Chinese passport has also continued to increase as more countries introduce visa-free policies for Chinese citizens.

Since the beginning of the year, countries including Turkiye, Brazil, Sudan and Cambodia have announced unilateral visa-free entry policies for holders of ordinary Chinese passports, he said. During the first half of the year, Chinese mainland residents made more than 88.02 million outbound trips, up 10.5 percent year-on-year.

Lin said immigration authorities also stepped up efforts to combat cross-border crime during the first half of the year.

Authorities investigated 11,400 cases involving crimes that undermine border management, arrested more than 22,400 suspects, dismantled 157 major criminal gangs, and placed 88 major cases under special supervision. Through international law enforcement cooperation, a number of human traffickers and other cross-border criminal suspects were captured overseas, he said.

Lin said immigration authorities will launch a new round of operations in the second half of the year to pursue long-term fugitives involved in serious human smuggling cases and strengthen cooperation with overseas law enforcement agencies to bring key members of smuggling networks to justice.

Authorities also intensified efforts against foreigners illegally entering, residing or working in China, resulting in the apprehension and deportation of 11,900 people, he said.

In addition, immigration authorities cracked down on crimes involving firearms, explosives, drug trafficking and smuggling at ports and border areas. They solved 209 drug-related cases, arrested 305 suspects, and seized 4.37 metric tons of drugs, including 45 cases involving more than 10 kilograms of narcotics. Authorities also confiscated 603 firearms and more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition.

cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn