Malaysia and China are extending a reciprocal visa-free travel arrangement between the nations, following a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The move extends the current visa-free system by five years, and is one of the 31 MOUs signed during Xi’s visit.
A top Malaysia official indicated that when the new five-year term comes up, there is an option to further renew the agreement.
Under the agreement, Chinese tourists can stay in Malaysia for up to 90 days, with the same being offered for Malaysians visiting China.
The move is expected to help boost economic growth in tourism. Up until April, Malaysia welcomed nearly 900,000 Chinese tourists, while in 2024, the country welcomed 4 million Chinese visitors.
China is a top source market for visitors to Malaysia, following Singapore and Thailand.
The move also ties in with the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign, which aims to increase tourism to 35.6 million international arrivals and RM147.1 billion ($33 billion) in tourism receipts.
It also comes amongst a slight drop in Chinese visitation to Thailand, a primary tourism destination rival (which welcomed 1.5 million Chinese tourists until April 20th this year).
Singapore and China also have a reciprocal 30-day visa-free travel arrangement, announced last year.
