This month alone, China has hosted a string of high-profile visitors, including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. Judging from the growing queues at immigration at Beijing Capital airport, which I used to breeze through until only last year, it is not just heads of state making the trip.
Beijing’s streets, largely bereft of foreign visitors even after China lifted pandemic travel restrictions, are noticeably busier with international tourists again — thanks in part to the dropping of visa requirements for 50 countries. From January to March, foreigners made 21mn trips to China, up 22 per cent year on year, on track to surge past pre-pandemic levels. For Beijing, the revival offers the chance to expand its soft power while boosting consumption.
Recent visiting friends from overseas usually cite some combination of visa-free travel, curiosity about China’s futuristic consumer and manufacturing landscapes, and cheap transit routes to Asia, especially amid disruption to Middle Eastern aviation corridors. While many would once have hesitated to visit a country associated with draconian pandemic lockdowns, China has found itself in the unusual position of being cool.