China announces visa-free travel for Russians

China will grant visa-free entry to Russian citizens on a one-year trial basis to further facilitate travel between the two countries, Beijing announced on Tuesday.

The announcement comes during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s four-day visit to the country for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, where he has met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and other world leaders.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press briefing that the visa waiver program would be expanded to ordinary passport holders from Russia starting September 15. Travelers will be able to enter the country for up to 30 days for business, tourism, personal visits, exchanges, and transit purposes.

Guo said the decision reflected the high level of development in China-Russia relations and is aimed at deepening people-to-people exchanges.

Interest in trips to China surged following the ministry’s announcement, according to the Russian Association of Travel Aggregators. Its head, Aleksandr Bragin, told TASS that online searches for flights and hotel bookings doubled immediately. He predicts overall demand to grow by 30% or more.

At present, Russians need a visa to visit China, with tourist permits issued through visa centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as Chinese consulates in cities including Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Khabarovsk, and Vladivostok. Fees range from 2,500 to 3,300 rubles ($31-41) for a single-entry visa, while multiple-entries start from $92. Processing usually takes a week, but sometimes longer.

Moscow and Beijing launched a visa-free group tourist exchange in August 2023, which was used by nearly 130,000 people that year, according to Russia’s Association of Tour Operators.

Tourism between the two countries has been soaring, boosted by relaxed entry rules and the launch of e-visa services. At present, eight Russian airlines operate 36 routes to China, while ten Chinese carriers fly on 24 routes to Russia, with a combined 230 flights a week.

According to the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, passenger traffic to China nearly tripled in 2024 to 830,000, focused on popular destinations such as Hainan Island, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.