Putin says Russia ready to make visa-free travel with China permanent

Russia is ready to work with China to make visa-free travel between the two countries permanent, President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

"We are ready to work together to make the visa-free regime permanent, if the Chinese side considers this possible and useful," Putin said during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek.

Russia introduced a reciprocal visa-free regime for Chinese citizens in December 2025, allowing them to stay in Russia for up to 30 days without a visa through Sept. 14, 2026. China had previously introduced a similar arrangement for Russian citizens.

The two countries subsequently agreed to extend visa-free travel for their citizens through the end of 2027.

Putin said the visa-free arrangement had helped boost travel between the two countries, with tourist trips rising 43% in the first half of 2026.

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said earlier that Chinese tourism to Russia had increased by almost 50% in the first quarter of 2026 following the introduction of visa-free travel.

The push to make visa-free travel permanent comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to deepen people-to-people and economic ties, with tourism forming part of broader bilateral cooperation.