President Barack Obama has announced a new reciprocal 10-year visa
policy for tourists and businessmen between the United States and
China. With the new agreement, citizens of each country can travel
between the two countries for up to 10 years on a single visa, this
putting China on level footing with other major trade partners like
Brazil and several European countries. Travelers can currently receive
one-year visas.
CNN reports:
“I’ve heard from American
business leaders about how valuable this step will be. And we’ve worked
hard to achieve this outcome because it clearly serves the mutual
interest of both of our countries,” Obama said Monday at a summit of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Obama is currently on a
weeklong sprint across Asia and the Pacific that will take him from
China to Myanmar and Australia, marking an opportunity for Obama to
address major foreign affairs and economic challenges as the U.S.
continues its pivot to Asia, which Obama promised early in his
presidency.
The change is expected to
be a boon for the U.S. economy, creating up to 440,000 American jobs by
2021 because increased tourism and business spurred by visits from more
than 7 million Chinese that would generate nearly $85 billion in
revenue, according to a White House estimate.
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