Russian agencies have begun work on the abolition of visas for Chinese citizens

Russian agencies have joined the work on the introduction of a visa-free regime for Chinese citizens, according to the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nikita Kondratiev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, announced this on September 10 at the international tourism forum and exhibition "Recreation".

"At the Eastern Economic Forum, our president announced a mirror response to the decision that the Chinese comrades announced during Vladimir Vladimirovich's visit to China. The decision must be executed. And all departments have already started this excellent work," TASS quoted Kondratiev as saying.

The representative of the department recalled that by 2030, Russia faces the task of increasing the flow of foreign tourists to the country to 16 million per year. The number of Chinese travelers among them, according to forecasts of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, by this time should reach 5.7 million people.

"This will be about 35% of the total inbound tourist flow of the Russian Federation by 2030. <...> Our regions have a lot of work to do in terms of analyzing the infrastructure they have in order to understand whether it corresponds to the increasing flow with China," he added.

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At the WEF plenary session, the President also spoke about business benefits and the best place to negotiate with Ukraine.

Also on September 4, as part of the WEF-2025, Kondratiev pointed out that the introduction of visa-free travel by China was an unexpected step for the Russian side, which was not initially considered by the Ministry of Economic Development.

The introduction of the PRC visa-free regime for Russian citizens with a regular passport for up to 30 days became known on September 2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reported that Russia has requested additional clarifications from China on the conditions of entry as part of the decision on visa-free entry. Putin indicated the next day that Russia would reciprocate China's move.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, in turn, pointed to the potential of Russia and China for a twofold increase in tourist traffic. According to him, the tourist flow has reached about 70% of the pre-peak level with more than 230 weekly flights.

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