Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong revealed on Thursday that China and Singapore plan to launch a bilateral visa-free policy as early as 2024.
The information was disclosed after top officials of the two countries attended the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Tianjin, China.
According to reports, Lawrence Wong mentioned that with the continuous increase in flights between Singapore and China, both sides would strengthen the movement of people between the two countries through a 30-day mutual visa exemption arrangement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore and the two countries will discuss and finalize the details, with implementation expected as early as 2024.
For the first nine months of this year, Singapore received over 1 million Chinese visitors, and mainland China has been one of the largest single sources of visitor arrivals to Singapore before and after COVID.
Singapore hosts a casino resort duopoly comprising Resorts World Sentosa, managed by Genting Singapore Ltd, and Marina Bay Sands, operated by a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Earlier this year, Malaysia and Thailand also announced a visa-free policy for Chinese visitors, with the aim of boosting their tourism industries.
