Jumping through visa hoops(3)

Misguided views

Liu Guofu, a professor of immigration law at the Beijing Institute of Technology, believes the new policy has been wrongfully interpreted by foreign media.

"China had more than 10 percent annual growth in terms of the number of foreigners coming to China over the past 20 years. The make-up of the foreign population coming to China is more and more complex, therefore it is normal to see changes in the corresponding law," Liu told the Global Times.

Liu believes that the stricter and longer visa approval process fits the international practice which means China is standardizing its law system. "For foreigners with legitimate business activities in China, the new law will bring them more benefits than inconveniences," he noted.

Meanwhile, Liu said Western media should not neglect the effort China has taken to continually open its doors to the world.

A good example is that Chengdu recently became the fourth city following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to introduce a 72 hours transit visa-free policy for travelers from 45 countries, including the US, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Australia and Japan.

Moreover, the new law extends the right to a 24-hour visa free stay to foreign passengers coming in by train or cruise ship, as opposed to only by plane before.

Besides, under the new rules, the foreigners such as sailors or their relatives can apply for a temporary visa for up to 15 days in unexpected events such as emergency medical treatment.

Wang Huiyao, director of the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times that the new modified law showed an open attitude toward foreigners.

"However, in practice, the threshold for qualified foreign applicants is still high which doesn't fit the global trend of lowering barriers to allow talents to move. For example, the US is now loosening its policy to give more five-year multiple entry visas to Chinese citizens. But instead, China rarely gives such visas to foreigners. This should change," Wang said.