China and Malaysia have agreed to extend the mutual visa-free entry system for their citizens, according to a joint statement issued on Thursday. The announcement was made in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur (pictured), at the conclusion of Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s three-day visit to that nation.
The Chinese authorities had already announced in May an extension of the visa-exemption policy for Malaysian citizens to December 31, 2025. According to Thursday’s statement, Malaysia will extend its visa-free entry system for Chinese citizens until the end of 2026.
The announcement said that the two sides “welcome the keen interest to continue consultations and discussions on mutual visa exemption to facilitate the entry of the citizens of Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China”.
Chinese citizens are allowed to enter and stay in Malaysia for up to 30 days visa-free.
Holders of Malaysian passports are exempted from visas to China if they stay in that country for no more than 15 days “for business, tourism, family visit and transit purposes”.
In late May, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said China was set to extend visa-free travel for Malaysian tourists from 15 to 30 days. He said the implementation agreement would be signed “at a later date”.
Malaysia’s casino sector has been rebounding with the return of foreign tourists. Genting Malaysia Bhd, which has a casino monopoly in the country at Resorts World Genting, reported first-quarter net profit of just under MYR36.7 million (US$7.8 million).
Revenue in the three months to March 31 was just above MYR2.76 billion, with Resorts World Genting accounting for MYR1.75 billion of group-wide leisure and hospitality revenue.
Genting Malaysia also runs casinos in the United States – via associated businesses – and in the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, and Egypt.
The casino firm’s management said earlier this month that bigger numbers of tourists from Singapore, Indonesia, China and India travelling to Malaysia had helped boost first-quarter revenue for Resorts World Genting.
