China vows to open immigration ‘at stable pace’, more policies to lure foreign talent

Immigration officials also told to combat infiltration and disruption by ‘hostile forces’ and illegal cross-border activities
A year after the borders reopened, Beijing is trying to encourage foreign businesspeople, students and tourists to return

Foreigners in China

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 3:00pm, 24 Jan 2024

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China’s immigration agency has pledged to further open up the country “at a stable pace” while calling for more efforts to fend off what it called infiltration by “hostile forces”.

It comes a year after the nation’s tough Covid-19 border controls were lifted, and as authorities try to encourage foreigners to travel to China.

“[We must] open up the immigration services system at a stable pace, comprehensively implement more positive and effective policies to attract, keep and gather overseas talent,” officials were told at an annual meeting of the National Immigration Administration in Beijing.

There was also a call for more international cooperation on managing immigration, according to a statement on the agency’s website on Tuesday.

In addition, immigration officials were told to combat infiltration and disruption by “hostile forces”, as well as illegal cross-border activities, to “fully safeguard the nation’s political security, border stability and management of immigration”.

Cadres at Monday’s meeting were told they needed a “profound understanding” of China’s current and future circumstances, the statement said without elaborating.

Beijing has been trying to signal its openness to the international community to lure foreign businesspeople, students and tourists to return to China amid a sluggish post-pandemic economic recovery.

But China’s rivalry with the West and a national security drive – that has seen anti-espionage and state secrets legislation tightened and raids of foreign consulting firms – has had a chilling effect.

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In the past year, Beijing has introduced measures aimed at making the visa process easier and other incentives to try to woo foreigners and spur more cross-border exchanges.

Most recently, while visiting Switzerland and Ireland this month, Premier Li Qiang said nationals of the two countries would be able to enter China without visas.

It followed November’s announcement that travellers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia could visit China for up to 15 days without a visa – a measure that will be in place until November 30.

Immigration officials were told they need a “profound understanding” of China’s current and future circumstances. Photo: Robert Ng

Foreign visitors accounted for just 8.4 per cent of the total inbound and outbound trips last year, according to the latest immigration data.

That compares to 2019, before the pandemic, when foreign visitors made up 14.6 per cent of cross-border travel.

The number of foreign residents in China last year was also 15 per cent below that of 2019, according to immigration data released last week.

In recent months, state media has also been highlighting the need to attract more foreign talent to China to boost innovation and entrepreneurship and revive the economy.

The State Council on Monday released a plan calling for redoubled efforts to draw international talent to Shanghai’s Pudong district for a “high-level opening up”, including by making it easier for foreigners to live in China.