The Chinese Foreign Ministry says Beijing will seriously consider resuming short visits from Japan without a visa. The arrangement for Japanese visitors staying in China for up to 15 days has been on pause since 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At a news conference on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, "We will intensively look into the request from all sectors in Japan for resuming the visa-free policy to travel to China."

Wang also expressed the hope that Japan will also work with China "in the same direction to make cross-border travel between our two countries easier." Beijing is a long-time advocate of reciprocity.

On Sunday, China and Thailand reached a deal to waive visa requirements for short-term visits to each other's countries.

Starting in December last year, short-term travelers from France, Germany, Italy and three other countries can enter China without visas.