In a surprising reversal of roles on the global travel stage, China is emerging as the new champion of openness, rolling out expansive visa-free travel schemes just as the United States returns to hardline border policies.
While Beijing courts foreign travellers and businesses with extended stays and regional visa deals, Washington is reviving bans and tightening restrictions, a move that harks back to Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Trump’s travel ban deja vu
US President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping new proclamation barring or restricting travel from nearly 20 countries, citing national security risks ranging from terrorism to inadequate identity verification systems.
Effective 9 June 2025 at 12.01am EDT, the order fully bans nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Seven more nations – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will face partial restrictions.
History repeats itself
This policy draws immediate comparisons to Trump’s 2017 “Muslim ban”, which also triggered global outcry but was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court. That ban was rescinded by President Joe Biden in 2021, who called it “a stain on our national conscience.”
The policy was announced in a video on X (formerly Twitter), where Trump declared:
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” pointing to terrorism threats, uncooperative governments, and high visa overstay rates as justification.
Current visa holders, permanent residents, and individuals travelling for the Olympics, World Cup or under special visa categories will be exempt.
The decision follows a January executive order directing US agencies to identify countries with "deficient" traveller vetting systems – a move which laid the groundwork for this expanded blacklist.
Building bridges or barriers?
Reactions from affected countries have been mixed. Somalia’s ambassador to the US, Dahir Hassan Abdi, offered to strengthen bilateral cooperation, while Venezuela’s interior minister Diosdado Cabello warned that “being in the United States is a big risk.”
China opens its arms to the world
As the US reinstates its restrictive travel stance, China is doubling down on accessibility, vastly expanding its unilateral visa-free policy to include 38 countries – a who's who of the EU, plus Australia, New Zealand, Japan and more.
This allows ordinary passport holders from those nations to enter visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism, business, family visits and transit.
Mutual visa-exemption deals are also in place with countries like Singapore, Thailand and Georgia, creating reciprocal arrangements that bolster two-way travel.
ASEAN’s business class visa-travel
In a major regional boost, China introduced a new “ASEAN visa” on 3 June 2025. Business travellers from all 10 ASEAN countries and observer Timor-Leste (plus their spouses and children) will be eligible for five-year, multiple-entry visas, with each stay lasting up to 180 days.
“The new scheme aims to further facilitate cross-border travel in the region,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated.
This new visa complements the existing “Lancang-Mekong” scheme, introduced in November 2024, which offers similar five-year access for business visitors from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
From Samba to Souks, China goes global
China’s liberalisation push doesn’t stop at Asia. From 1 June 2025, citizens of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay can also enter China without a visa, as part of a new trial policy. In addition, all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations now enjoy visa-free access.
According to Lin, China welcomed over 9 million foreign visitors in the first quarter of 2025 – a 40% year-on-year increase.
“The growing list of nations granted visa-free entry into the country reflects China’s strong commitment to advancing high-level opening up,” Lin said.
“China will continue to improve entry policies and add more countries to the visa-free list, to allow more foreign friends to visit China to experience our excellent and diverse products and services.”