2023-11-25 06:16:00
Tourists or businessmen who have gone through the obstacle course of obtaining a visa to go to China will be delighted. While tensions have deteriorated with the West in recent years, Beijing has decided to make a diplomatic gesture towards France by announcing, this Friday, that the French will now be able to go to China without a visa if their stay does not exceed not 15 days.
« China has decided to implement a visa waiver policy for French nationals coming to China for short stays of 15 days or less », announced Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday, on the sidelines of a meeting with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna.
« Now that the shadow of the epidemic has dissipated, we are delighted to see the increase in mutual visits, contacts and exchanges between our two peoples. “, underlined Wang Yi. The Asian giant had virtually closed its doors for almost three years during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citizens of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia will also receive this authorization, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. As a reminder, China already applies visa exemption measures for citizens of countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, the Bahamas, Qatar and Singapore. Chinese diplomacy clarified in a press release that this was a measure “ experimental », applied for the moment for one year, between December 1, 2023 and November 30, 2024.
A gesture to warm up relations with Europe
This announcement is a strong symbolic gesture, with China only granting this privilege to a limited number of countries. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China has also “ congratulated » of this news, in a press release, and “ hopes that other European nations will soon be added to this list ».
« This is a tangible and useful improvement, which will also boost business confidence “, she stressed.
In the other direction, Chinese holders of a master’s degree, whether their diploma is French or Chinese, may be issued by France with a travel visa for a period of five years, French diplomacy announced on Friday. One of the conditions will be to have completed at least one semester of study in France. This measure will allow its beneficiaries to travel back and forth freely between the two countries and might potentially attract more Chinese students to France.
China does not want to lose French industrialists
This is not the first attempt to seduce France by Beijing. On November 21, Emmanuel Macron spoke in a telephone call with the Chinese president who is seeking to strengthen ties with his European trading partner following the French head of state’s visit to China in April. Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, wants to see more French products enter the Chinese market. “ China ready to maintain high-level exchanges with the French side “, declared the Chinese president on Monday during a telephone call with Emmanuel Macron.
The French presidency thus underlined in a press release that the opening of the Chinese market must also go hand in hand with rules of fair competition for foreign companies. Asked regarding the progress made to counter Chinese attempts to force French cosmetics companies to share their manufacturing secrets, a French presidential adviser replied that it was an important subject, which had been raised until the ‘Elysium. “ Now, the next step must above all be a dialogue with the competent authorities to explain to them the consequences of the regulations that are envisaged. “, declared the advisor.
The leader of the Asian giant also called on Paris to play a constructive role in promoting the positive development of relations between China and the EU. “ China and the European Union should remain partners for mutually beneficial cooperation ” Xi Jinping said during the call.
At the end of September, the tone rose between China and the European Union, following Brussels’ decision to launch an investigation into the subsidies granted by Beijing to electric car manufacturers. Which might lead to a significant increase in customs duties on Chinese cars. While Beijing had already denounced a measure “ protectionist ” which will ” a negative impact on economic relations » between the two blocs, Chinese Vice-Prime Minister He Lifeng made a new point during a meeting with European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, reaffirming the “ strong dissatisfaction » from the Chinese government.
Beijing also extends a hand to the Americans
European countries are not the only Western powers. The former Middle Kingdom is not the only Western power. On November 15, the Chinese and American presidents met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in San Francisco, following more than a year without having met.
« We are not trying to decouple from China », assured Joe Biden, the day before the meeting. For the latter, the objective is “ to be able to pick up the phone and talk to each other if there is a crisis “. The tenant of the White House, however, estimated that Xi Jinping’s China had “ real problems ” facing “ restoration of American leadership ». « We oppose defining Sino-US relations in terms of competition “, repeated a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Beijing regularly calling on Washington for cooperation rather than confrontation. Beijing is therefore not ready to become an ally of the Americans once more.
(With AFP)
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