Govt to discuss extending tourist visa exemption duration with China

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will discuss with China extending the tourist visa exemption for Malaysians to travel to China from 15 to 30 days.

This will be among the matters he will address during his working visit to China, which starts today.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail revealed that they will also discuss extending the visa-free exemption end date from Dec 31, 2025, to Dec 31, 2026.

He said that the matters are expected to be raised in Zahid's meeting with China's State Councillor and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong at the closed session of the Global Public Security Cooperation From Lianyungang (GPSCFL) Conference tomorrow.

“Our stance is that by offering Chinese citizens a 30-day visa-free stay to boost the tourism industry… Zahid discussed before that China should reciprocate because China gives us (Malaysian tourists) only 15 days without a visa.

“In the closed discussion tomorrow, we will raise the matter again. At the official-level discussion, China has shown a positive reaction, but it has not yet become a decision. The positive aspect is their readiness to engage in discussion,” he said at a session with the Malaysian media in Shanghai today.

Zahid’s visit to China is in conjunction with the GPSCFL held in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, on Sept 8 and 9.

The visit, which runs until Sept 12, came at the joint invitation of GPSCFL chairperson Tsang Wai-Hung, and China Association for Friendship president Chen Zinmin.

During Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang's official visit to Malaysia in June, it was reported that China had agreed to extend the visa exemption for Malaysians until the end of 2025, while Malaysia reciprocated by extending the same facility to Chinese citizens until the end of 2026.

These efforts reflect the two countries' commitment to further fostering and strengthening Malaysia-China ties.

Cross-border crimes

Additionally, Saifuddin highlighted that Malaysia will focus on cross-border crime issues, such as human trafficking and cybercrime, at the forum.

He emphasised that these new challenges require joint efforts and collaboration between countries.

“For Malaysia and China, addressing cross-border crime includes various elements, particularly enhancing the cooperation and capacity of law enforcement agencies and sharing intelligence information related to cross-border criminal activities,” he said.

“This cooperation needs to succeed, particularly in sharing information on drug activities or crimes such as cybercrime and financial scams.

“Both countries must be committed to exchanging this information,” Saifuddin added.

Malaysia and China had previously extended an agreement on cooperation to combat cross-border crime, which will remain in effect until 2034.

This extension was formalised during the Fifth Meeting of the Malaysia-People's Republic of China Joint Working Group on Combating Cross-Border Crime, in Beijing, held in June.

Saifuddin also mentioned that, at a recent conference in Laos, the Asean secretary-general highlighted the growing global trend of cross-border crime over the past two years, with losses estimated at US$1.02 trillion (RM4.5 trillion).

Priority list

At the same time, Saifuddin shared that initial discussions have begun with the National Security Council to develop a priority list of national security and crime threats, aiming to focus efforts on resolving these issues more effectively.

“Each country has its own list of priority crime threats. For example, in China, the focus is on financial scams.

“Malaysia should also have a similar list, which will make it easier to strengthen cooperation with countries which share the same priorities,” he said.

At the Asean level, he noted that two elements - piracy at sea and international economic crime - were removed from the bloc's security and crime priorities, while online fraud was added to the list.

- Bernama

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