00:00 China's embassy in Malaysia on Friday announced that Malaysian passport holders could enjoy
00:05 a maximum of 15-day visa-free stay in China starting from next month.
00:11 The embassy said the visa waiver program for Malaysian travelers will be effective from
00:15 December 1st until November 30th next year.
00:18 It said such travels are for business, tourism, family visit and transit purposes.
00:24 And it added that those who do not meet the purposes of visit and the 15-day limit are
00:28 still required to apply for Chinese visas.
00:32 The embassy said visas that had been issued are still valid, and visa applications that
00:37 had been submitted will also be processed as usual.
00:40 Ayir Hitam MP Datuk, Sri Dr. Wee Kha Siong said, "The visa waiver policy is great news
00:46 for Malaysian travelers, and it's a wonderful gift in conjunction with the 50th anniversary
00:51 of the Malaysia-China bilateral relations."
00:55 We said in a reciprocal move by the Malaysian government, Chinese tourists will also enjoy
01:00 a 30-day visa-free stay when they visit Malaysia.
01:04 Besides Malaysia, the Chinese government also announced that citizens of five other countries
01:09 will be exempted from needing visas to travel to China for business, tourism, family visit
01:15 and transit purposes.
01:17 The countries are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
01:22 The move is seen as one of the most proactive measures by Beijing to boost its tourism sector
01:27 after the COVID-19 pandemic.
01:29 -END-
