China's latest visa-free entry, tax rebate policies fuel influx of overseas visitors in Guangzhou

China's latest visa-free entry and tax rebate policies have fueled an influx of foreign visitors in the southern city of Guangzhou, where the country's largest international trade fair is taking place.

Since China expanded its visa-free transit window to 240 hours (10 days) for passport holders from 54 countries in 2024, Guangzhou, host city of the Canton Fair -- has recorded 1.11 million visa-free entries as of April 2025, a 275 percent year-on-year surge.

The policy is part of the country's broader push to attract more overseas visitors, including unilateral visa exemption for 38 countries and slashing the minimum spending threshold for tax refunds from 500 yuan (69 U.S. dollars) to 200 yuan (28 U.S. dollars).

In Canton Fair Convention Complex, an AI-powered virtual host explains instant refund procedures in multiple languages, attracting overseas buyers to the tax service booth, with multilingual tax refund policy and service brochures available.

Several commercial banks' booths also offer live presentations on departure tax refund procedures.

"Since the implementation of the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, as of April 2025, the tax refund for departure we have accepted has increased by 137 percent year-on-year, showcasing the enthusiasm of foreign tourists for tourism and consumption in Guangzhou," said Chen Cuina, account manager at Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) Guangzhou Branch.

The government is also expanding the number of departure tax refund stores and promoting a "refund-upon-purchase" service model. Guangzhou has increased the number of tax refund stores and expanded the variety of tax refund goods.

Currently, 349 stores in Guangzhou offer tax refund services, with 10 pilot stores implementing the in-store tax refund policy.

Since the 137th Canton Fair opened on April 15, the average daily number of tax refund transactions in Guangzhou has reached a record high, increasing by 168 percent compared to last year.

Some merchants even joined in a one-stop online instant tax refund service for departing travelers. They can instantly upload purchase details and documents via their mobile phones at these stores to complete the tax refund process and receive their refunds within five minutes.

"I definitely need to try it (the online instant tax refund), it is good because I immediately get back the money," said an overseas buyer.

Following introducing the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, Guangzhou has welcomed over three million inbound travelers, a 75 percent year-on-year increase. Among them, 1.11 million entered visa-free, representing a 275 percent increase from last year.

China's latest visa-free entry, tax rebate policies fuel influx of overseas visitors in Guangzhou

China's latest visa-free entry, tax rebate policies fuel influx of overseas visitors in Guangzhou

China will roll out a series of targeted measures to stabilize investment and unlock greater space for private capital, an official said on Thursday.

Chen Changsheng, deputy director of the State Council Research Office who participated in the drafting of this year's Government Work Report, made the statement at a press briefing held in Beijing.

He noted that China will leverage the guiding role of government funding and the driving effect of major projects to shore up investment.

Total government investment this year is set to exceed five trillion yuan (about 725 billion U.S. dollars), which will come from central budget investment and local government special bonds for major national strategies and security capacity building projects and equipment upgrades. Meanwhile, 109 major projects have been planned in the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

China will also stimulate investment by opening up more application scenarios for businesses.

On the traditional front, a long-term mechanism will be improved to encourage private enterprises to participate in major national projects. For emerging sectors, China will further open scenarios in biomedicine, aerospace, and the low-altitude economy.

"Low-altitude economy has developed rapidly in recent years, with sound applications seen in fields such as agriculture, forestry plant protection, as well as surveying and inspection. Going forward, we will accelerate the opening of airspace resources and streamline approval procedures for low-altitude flights. This will unlock new scenarios including low-altitude logistics and urban management. Similar new opportunities can also be found in service robots and other sectors, all of which will create new space for private investment," Chen said.

By deepening reforms to further unlock investment potential, China will ease market access in the service sector, speed up revisions to the Bidding Law and the Government Procurement Law, and advance price reforms to broaden investment access for more enterprises.

"We will see a new round of investment potential unleashed. Major projects including the national water network, a new round of power grid upgrades, new generation communication networks, and computing power networks will drive massive investment, including demand from urban development. In addition, the campaign this year to expand and upgrade the service sector and the development of emerging industries will further expand space for private investment," Chen noted.

China to take measures to boost investment, expand space for private investment in 2026: official