(KUALA LUMPUR) A permanent visa-free travel policy between China and Malaysia will be good for both countries in extending collaboration in trade, tourism, culture and education, says Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.

The regional economy will develop even faster for both countries, he said.

Ouyang said this in a joint-interview with Chinese media in Malaysia in conjunction with 50 anniversary of formal ties between Malaysia and China.

Since the implementation of visa-free travel between Malaysia and China on1 December last year, close to 1 million of tourists from China visited Malaysia as of March this year.

The number of flights between China and Malaysia has reached 350 per week now while many airline companies are starting new routes, increasing the size of the planes and the frequency of the flights.

Many are exploring chartered flights too, he said.

The number of visitors from China to Malaysia and vice versa has reached unprecedented peak where the number of tourists from China is expected to exceed pre-Covid-19 pandemic era this year.

Close to 3.8million of visitors travelled between China and Malaysia in 2019, he said.

About 5,000 tour groups from China visited Malaysia during the Chinese New Year period where the number of Chinese tourists increased by 53.9% for the same period last year while the number of Chinese tourists increased more than 89% for the same period last year during the labour day weekend.

As China continues to have visa-free travel with Singapore and Thailand this year, the number of countries implementing visa-free travel in Southeast Asia is expected to increase.

As of now, China has signed various forms of visa-free travel with 157 countries where 23 of them are completely visa-free while more than 60 countries and regions offer Chinese nationals waiver or visa-on-arrival, he said.

While the visa-free travel policy with Malaysia has been extended to end of 2025, such measures have offered more opportunities for mutual collaboration for people of both countries, he said.

The 15-day visa-free policy applies to Malaysian citizens holding ordinary passports to go to China for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes.

This policy was first announced by China on Nov 24 last year. Prior to this latest announcement, the visa-free policy is enforced from Dec 1, 2023 to Nov 30, 2024.

Chinese nationals enjoy a 30-day visa-free travel to Malaysia.