China's continuous optimization of entry-exit policies has fueled a surge in cross-border tourism in the first quarter of this year.
The Mohan Port in southwest China's Yunnan Province, which borders Laos, logged a daily average of 5,300 trips in the first quarter of 2024, with the highest number of travelers exceeding 8,000 a day, statistics showed.
Nearly 500,000 travelers from 71 countries and regions passed the port, a year-on-year increase of 51.8 percent.
To cope with the rising number of travelers, the port has rolled out several measures.
"We've deployed the police force in a scientific manner, and introduced convenience measures such as the 'Belt and Road' special channel, customs clearance booking service for inbound tour groups, mobile consultation stations, and 24-hour barrier-free customs clearance. All this has effectively ensured smooth and fast customs clearance," said a border force officer.
The Horgos Port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region also saw a surge of travelers in the first three months this year.
With the launch of the Kazakhstan tourism year, an increasing number of Chinese and Kazakh citizens have been traveling between the two countries for sightseeing. "In the first quarter of this year, the entries and exits at the Horgos Port grew rapidly, jumping nearly 5.6 times from the 2019-level. On average, about 2,500 people enter and exit the port each day, mainly for tourism, visits to relatives and friends, and business visits," said Xu Xiaohu, a team leader of the Horgos entry-exit border checkpoint.
China sees cross-border tourism boom in Q1
Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to France marks a pivotal moment for strengthening Sino-French strategic cooperation amid global tensions, according to Pascal Boniface, founder of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.
From May 5 to 10, Xi will tour Europe, including stops in France, Serbia, and Hungary -- his first European visit in five years.
During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Paris, Boniface shared his perspectives on the importance of this visit.
"It's a very important visit, because, as you have mentioned, President Xi has not visited Europe for the last five years due to COVID-19. And it's a very important period of time due to many wars: the wars between Russia and Ukraine, the war in Gaza between Palestinians and Israelis. I think it's a very important time to enhance the cooperation, strategic cooperation between France and China, and to think about the way we could together try to ease the tension and to make progress towards peace," Boniface explained.
Boniface also discussed the potential impact of Xi's visit on Sino-French relations, emphasizing that it provides a platform for Xi to articulate Chinese policies to the French people.
"Because President Xi will be seen by most of the French people and will read important speeches, so he could elaborate Chinese policy and present its policy to the French people. It is good to have a visit, because it will be in the spotlight for two days, or even before by the fact, because we have begun to speak about the Chinese president's visit since now. So it's a very good way. And I think we need to have regular visits, regular meetings between our two leaders," Boniface noted.
Regarding Europe's strategic autonomy -- a policy endorsed by French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to China last year -- Boniface stressed the significant work still required for France to achieve this goal without compromising its commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"To be frank, many of French people share this view, but not too many people inside Europe. So it's really a work in progress, because most European countries are dedicated to American umbrella, strategic umbrella. And so, for some of them, most of them, to be frank, the strategic autonomy of Europe could be a way to be separated from the USA. It's not the case, so we have to work a little bit more to convince our partners. But we could have strategic autonomy without leaving NATO," Boniface said.
Expert highlights significance of President Xi's upcoming visit to France
