According to results from the first quarter of this year, passenger traffic between Russia and China increased nearly one and a half times due to the visa-free entry regime. Russian Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin announced the figures.
“The abolition of visa restrictions is always a growth point,” Nikitin stated in an interview with RIA Novosti ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). “As in the case of China: after implementing this decision, we saw an increase in passenger traffic from 20% to 40%, depending on the route.”
He added that by the end of the first quarter of 2026, tourist trips had increased by 46%.
Moscow plans to prepare proposals for Beijing during the second quarter of this year.
On May 20, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov announced that flight numbers between Russia and China would continue to rise amid strengthening business and humanitarian ties. According to Reshetnikov, extending visa-free travel with China would stimulate tourism, job creation, and growth in non-primary exports of services.
The same day, during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Russian president confirmed that Russia and China would maintain visa-free travel for citizens of both countries. He stated that this decision has become an additional incentive for expanding humanitarian contacts between the two nations.
