The first cross-border coach carrying Chinese citizens has entered Russia as Moscow's visa-free policy for Chinese nationals takes effect, marking a boost to bilateral travel. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called it good news for deepening ties and people-to-people exchanges.
On December 1, 2025, an executive order signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin took effect, allowing Chinese citizens to enter Russia visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism, business trips, scientific, cultural, or sports activities, until September 14, 2026. The policy is reciprocal to China's one-year trial of a 30-day visa-free arrangement for Russian nationals with ordinary passports, launched on September 15, 2025, also expiring on September 14, 2026.
At the Suifenhe Highway Port in Suifenhe City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the first cross-border coach carrying Chinese citizens entered the exit channel, initiating customs clearance. Sun Shan, deputy director of the Suifenhe Tourism Development Service Center, said they have improved service facilities and prepared integrated activities for commerce and tourism. In the future, they will collaborate with Russian counterparts to develop short-trip boutique products such as two-day and weekend tours, aiming to turn the Suifenhe Port into a golden gateway for China-Russia cross-border tourism.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian described the announcement as 'good news' during a regular press briefing, noting it as the latest example of closer government-to-government and people-to-people ties. 'The measure will give an all-round boost to the friendship, exchanges and cooperation between the two countries,' Lin said. 'We sincerely hope to see more Chinese and Russians discovering each other’s beautiful countries through visa-free tours.'
The news quickly went viral in China, with travel platform Qunar reporting a more than threefold increase in searches for flights from Hangzhou to St. Petersburg within the first hour, and a 44 percent surge for Beijing-Moscow flights. Li Yanqiu, 35, from Beijing, said she plans to visit Lake Baikal in Siberia and Moscow with her family, praising the policy.
Inna Klochko, 53, from Russia's Vladivostok, recently enjoyed a stay at a hot spring resort in Harbin, noting the eased entry process under China's visa-free policy. A Harbin travel agency has received over 400 Russian tourists in the past two months, a 30 percent year-on-year increase. Zhang Jinshan, a tourism researcher at Beijing Union University, said the mutual policies will stimulate tourism, promote exchanges, and revitalize industrial zones in Northeast China and Russia's Far East.
