China announces visa-free policy for Denmark

Photo: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In the announcement, the Chinese Ministry underlines that “Denmark adheres to the one-China policy”.

Officially, the Danish government has since 1950 recognized the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China – known as the ‘One China policy’ – without taking a position on Taiwan’s political status.

However, it is a cautious stance, according to Andreas Bøje Forsby, a senior researcher in foreign policy and diplomacy at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

The position is shared by Denmark’s Nordic neighbours, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, and is frequently overstated by Chinese ambassadors who make excessive claims about their host countries’ support for an “undivided China”.

Forsby explains that the “vague and unspecified character” of the One China policy makes it very difficult for the Nordics to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness of the matter, but that Denmark can be described as a “commercial pragmatist” in terms of its practical arrangement of non-official relations with Taiwan.

Denmark operates low-key trade offices in Taipei alongside Taiwanese representative offices in their own capitals for the sake of promoting economic interests.

Løkke said that Danish-Chinese relations have “maintained a good momentum of development, and cooperation in various fields has progressed smoothly”, according to the Chinese ministry.

China is currently handing out several visa-free policies.

During an official visit to China earlier in September, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who announced that Norwegians would soon be allowed to travel to China without having to apply for a visa.

“This will make it much easier for Norwegian business representatives, students and others to travel to China. It also lays the foundations for closer cooperation,” said Støre.

Since December 1, 2023, visa-free entry for 15 days has been granted to visitors from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. 

Since March 14, 2024, travelers from Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Hungary and Austria have been able to enter China without a visa.

On July 1, 2024, the list of visa-free countries was extended to include Poland, Australia and New Zealand.

On 26 September, China announced that Greece and Slovenia would also benefit from the policy.

The Chinese visa waiver aims to boost the tourism sector, which is still recovering to pre-pandemic levels and to encourage trade by simplifying short-term business trips.

Meanwhile, application processes for those who still need a visa have been simplified: the requirement for an appointment to submit a visa application has been abolished and consular fees reduced.

Visa applicants are also exempted from fingerprinting until December 31, 2025.

Denmark is yet to release its own press release on the new visa-free policy.

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Publish date : 2024-09-27 02:26:00

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