‘Make Visa-Free Regime Permanent’: Xi Talks Deeper Russia-China Ties with Putin Ahead of US Visit
Putin said the visa-free arrangement has boosted travel 43% in the first half of 2026 as Moscow and Beijing seek closer economic ties.
- On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced readiness to make visa-free travel with China permanent during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek.
- Russia introduced a reciprocal visa-free regime in December 2025, allowing stays of up to 30 days through Sept 14, 2026, with both countries previously agreeing to extend it through 2027.
- Tourist trips between the two countries rose 43% in the first half of 2026, while Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui reported a nearly 50% increase in Chinese tourism during the first quarter.
- Moscow and Beijing are seeking to deepen economic and people-to-people ties, with leaders also discussing artificial intelligence and digital cooperation during the summit.
- The potential policy shift arrives as Russia and China strengthen ties, with China having previously established a similar reciprocal arrangement for Russian citizens.
23 Articles
23 Articles
The leaders of both states met on the eve of the SCO summit in Bishkek
Putin proposes permanent China-Russia visa-free agreement
President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Bishkek urged President Xi Jinping to consider the feasibility of a permanent visa-free agreement between China and Russia. Both leaders, as well as their counterparts from Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, are attending the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan. Putin and Xi met on the sidelines of the annual conference, where Xi reiterated “the vital miss…
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the visa-free travel regime between the two countries should become permanent. The measure would extend a temporary system introduced by Moscow and Beijing, in the context of the significant increase in tourist traffic between Russia and China in 2026, Meduza announces.
The Economic Times
Times of India‘Make visa-free regime permanent’: Xi talks deeper Russia-China ties with Putin ahead of US visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the SCO summit as Moscow and Beijing push closer ties ahead of Xi’s expected US visit. Putin backed making the Russia-China visa-free travel regime permanent while the two leaders discussed AI, digital cooperation and key global issues. The Putin-Xi meeting comes as Washington watches Russia-China ties, the SCO summit and Xi’s upcoming US trip amid rising geopolitical tensi…
Russia is ready to get rid of the mandatory visa requirement in China and to cooperate in making the regime permanent. According to what Vladimir Putin said during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, “We are ready to cooperate in making the visa-free regime permanent, if the Chinese side considers it feasible and useful.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was ready to work together with China to put the visaless regime between countries on a permanent basis, as he had mentioned at a meeting with President Xi Jinping of the PRC on the "fields" of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek.
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