China welcomes Hungary's visa facilitation measures: FM spokesperson

China welcomes a move by Hungary to facilitate visa for Chinese citizens visiting the country for investment and cooperation purposes, and welcomes visa facilitation by more countries, a spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry (FM) said on Tuesday.

The announcement by Hungary related to issuing 5-year, multiple-entry visas for Chinese citizens on business trips is another example of the high-level development of China-Hungary ties, and China welcomes the move," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a routine press conference on Tuesday in Beijing.

Wang noted that bilateral cooperation have yielded fruitful results under the China-Hungary comprehensive strategic partnership.

After China implemented a pilot policy which include visa-free entry for Hungarian tourists and business people, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto recently announced that Hungary would issue long-term visas to Chinese citizens visiting the country for investment and business cooperation.

"We believe these new measures will further strengthen people-to-people exchanges, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and promote high-level development of the bilateral ties," Wang said. "China also welcomes more countries to offer visa facilitation for Chinese citizens to boost cross-border travel and cooperation."

China announced last week that it will adopt a visa-free policy for Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg on a trial basis, starting on March 14.

This followed visa-free entry trial for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia, effective from December 1, 2023.