Canadians can now travel to China visa-free. Here's what people are saying about the change
Toronto business leaders and travel groups are applauding changes to China’s visa rules, which will allow Canadian passport holders to travel to the country visa-free starting Tuesday.
The change was announced by the country’s foreign ministry over the weekend and will be in effect until Dec. 31, according to a statement from a spokesperson for the foreign ministry on its website. The idea of visa-free travel was first mentioned in January, after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Bijan Ahmadi, the executive director for the Canada China Business Council, said the change is a “constructive and practical step forward.”
“For businesses, speed and predictability matter. The ability to travel on shorter notice supports deal-making, due diligence, participation at trade shows, executive visits, and relationship-building,” he wrote in an email.
The changes present a big opportunity for Canadians, said Gordon So, a Toronto entrepreneur and co-founder of Landed for Success, a business networking company for immigrants. So said he’s heard from friends and clients who could stand to benefit — or are already benefiting — from it.
“A friend of mine here in Toronto is in Sri Lanka, and literally a [business] opportunity came up for him to be in China, so he is going to be going there for a business trip and won’t need a visa,” he said.
After years of strained relations, Prime Minister Mark Carney has met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Carney hailed a tentative agreement with China to co-operate more on clean and conventional energy, but the Canada-China tariff dispute remains unresolved.
So — who is from Hong Kong and frequently travels there for business — said the changes will let him bring clients to business networking forums like the Asian Financial Forum, where they can pitch to investors from all over China and form partnerships.
“In the past, if you meet someone at the Asian Financial Forum, and maybe it’s a banker from somewhere in Beijing that you want to continue to do business with, well, if you don’t have a visa you can’t go,” said So.
“Now, if you do meet someone and if three days after the event you’re thinking 'Oh, I would love to go and meet them.' With your Canadian passport you can now freely just travel to China.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/business-reaction-visa-free-travel-china-9.7092756
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