China and Thailand to Waive Visa Requirements for Each Other's Citizens

Facts

• Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Tuesday announced that Thailand and China will permanently remove visa requirements for each other’s citizens starting in March.¹
• Thailand granted visa-free entry to Chinese citizens in September 2023, so as to revive a tourism industry that has been struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. With the policy having been set to expire on Feb. 29, a permanent extension of the programme has been agreed upon.²
• In 2019, roughly 40M people, 11M of whom were Chinese, visited Thailand, spending an estimated 1.9T baht ($53.2B) according to Thailand's ministry of sport and tourism. Tourists visiting Thailand fell by more than 99% in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic, before rebounding to 28M in 2023.³
• Thai authorities say that more than 22K people visited the country from China within the first two days of the visa waiver. China itself has tried to boost tourism from other countries by announcing a visa waiver for visitors from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia between Dec. 2023 and Nov. 2024.⁴
• Thailand is Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Thai officials have voiced concern over China’s slowing economy and its impact on travel, especially as eight new Thai airlines have started operations in the country and Thailand's cabinet has announced a tax cut on alcohol and entertainment venues to boost tourism.⁵
• Chinese ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has expressed his support for the travel agreement between the two nations, stating that “competent authorities of both sides are communicating closely,” and they look forward to implementing the arrangement.⁶

Sources: ¹Nikkei Asia, ²Associated Press, ³ABC News, ⁴BBC News, ⁵South China Morning Post and ⁶WION.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by The Diplomat. The announcement of permanent visa-free travel between Thailand and China is great news for both countries, their citizens, and their economies. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the global economy, and Thailand’s reliance on tourism made it especially vulnerable to travel restrictions. This new program will allow Thailand to benefit from wealthy Chinese tourists and promote strengthened ties between the nations.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by CNN. China is desperate to inject life into its struggling economy in order to overcome its bungled COVID recovery. Most of the attention of the visa waiver program is being diverted to Thailand’s tourism sector, but China’s self-imposed isolation for three years caused its once-thriving tourism industry to crater. China has dropped most of its austere COVID policies, but its economy has not rebounded as quickly as leadership thought — leading to visa waivers and other attempts to desperately promote prosperity.