China plans to remove visa requirements for Irish visitors to the country as it continues its relaxation of such rules in order to boost inbound tourism numbers.
The news was announced to coincide with this week’s visit to Ireland by Chinese Premier Li Qiang – basically the second highest office in China. Currently, Irish visitors to China need a visa from the Chinese Embassy in Dublin to enter the country.
During the 24 hour visit, during which Li Qiang met with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Michael D Higgins, China said it wants to “facilitate personnel exchanges” between China and Ireland and that increased co-operation between the two countries would be mutually beneficial.
“The two sides should jointly safeguard a free and open international trading system, maintain the stability and smoothness of global industrial and supply chains, practice true multilateralism, bridge differences through dialogue, resolve disputes through cooperation, promote the improvement of global governance, better promote common development, and avoid chaos.” Li Qiang said in Dublin.
Last month, China dropped visa requirements for a host of countries including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Malaysia.
