PUTRAJAYA: Travellers from Malaysia and China will enjoy five more years of visa-free travel when visiting each other’s countries, thanks to a new mutual visa exemption agreed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent state visit.

The arrangement is an extension of a current visa-free arrangement and a move experts say could positively impact the Southeast Asian nation’s economy.

The new reciprocal agreement was among a total of 31 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) signed on Wednesday (Apr 16) during Xi’s visit to Malaysia, as part of his Southeast Asian tour from Apr 14 to 18 where he also visited Vietnam and Cambodia. 

“During the president’s visit, one of the MOUs signed involved the new visa arrangement.

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"We agreed to extend it for another five years, with an option to renew for a further five years once it ends,” Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Tuesday (Apr 22), as quoted by local news outlet the New Straits Times (NST). 

“The visa exemption allows Chinese tourists to stay in Malaysia for up to 90 days, and China has offered a similar arrangement for Malaysians,” Saifuddin told reporters at the sidelines of the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly in Putrajaya. 

The extension expands upon Malaysia’s visa liberalisation initiative for travellers from China and India, implemented on Dec 1, 2023. 

“From 30 days, we extended the visa-free period in Malaysia to 90 days and also asked China to reciprocate but at that time, we were only given 15 days,” he said, as quoted by The Star. 

The initiative has proven effective in promoting economic growth through the tourism industry which has seen a significant increase in tourist arrivals from China, according to Saifuddin.

“As of April, this year alone we recorded nearly 900,000 tourist arrivals from China. Last year, the total stood at four million,” he said, as quoted by NST.

This is seen as a positive indicator for the government to continue such initiatives for the benefit of both countries, he said. 

“China remains the top source of international tourists to Malaysia, followed by India. Among ASEAN countries, Singapore leads, followed by Thailand,” he added, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

“Tourism continues to be a key contributor to the national economy, given its immediate impact compared to other forms of investment,” Saifuddin said. 

Before the extension was announced, Malaysians could travel to China visa-free until only Dec 31 this year, while Chinese nationals could enjoy visa-free travel to Malaysia until Dec 31 next year, according to The Star.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents president Nigel Wong said that the visa extension will allow the tourism industry to better develop the Chinese inbound market. 

“There is stability for the industry to plan ahead and boost efforts to attract more Chinese tourists,” he was quoted as saying by The Star, highlighting the increasing demand for Chinese travellers looking for experiential tourism products.

“It’s no longer just about the conventional tours. Instead, innovative and creative experiences like culinary tourism, heritage and culture, as well as ecotourism products, are popular with foreign tourists,” Nigel added. 

He also expects the benefits of the visa extension to go beyond the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.

“Tourism tends to spike after the Visit Malaysia campaign and this move will tie in very nicely,” he said. 

The Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign is a national drive to boost incoming tourism, with a series of bold targets, including 35.6 million international arrivals and RM147.1 billion (US$33 billion) in tourism receipts. 

President of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association Mint Leong said the visa-free extension will give industry players a clear direction when promoting Malaysia to Chinese tourists.

“Malaysia will also have the opportunity to attract more business events and business travellers due to this,” Leong was quoted as saying by The Star.

Meanwhile, treasurer-general of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Koong Lin Loong said the move can further spur the national gross domestic product, as the “hospitality industry is also set to benefit”.

“Chinese tourists will feel that there is less hassle due to the visa-free conditions and when they arrive, they will definitely be spending on goods as well as food and beverage,” he said. 

While Chinese tourist arrivals to Malaysia continue to increase, the Bangkok Post reported a decline in arrivals to Thailand, hitting a low for 2025 with only 5,833 visitors recorded on Apr 16, below the usual daily average of 15,000 to 20,000.

Natthriya Thaweevong, Chairperson of the Tourism Authority of Thailand said that the average number of tourists from Asia visiting Thailand has dropped, likely due to “safety concerns” and the “economic impact from the US tariff hike."

The safety concerns likely refer to the high-profile kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing in Thailand.

As of Apr 20, the total number of Chinese arrivals this year was 1.5 million, followed by Malaysians at 1.4 million and Russians at 835,385, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. 

Last year, then-prime minister of Thailand Srettha Thavisin announced that Chinese nationals will be granted visa-free entry on a permanent basis starting Mar 1, 2024. 

Last January, Singapore and China also agreed to a 30-day mutual visa-free entry for their citizens, close to two months after the proposal was first announced.