A Chinese tourism official has acknowledged that China and the US are making progress in negotiations on making the US a popular destination for Chinese tourists.

“In our latest meeting in Washington, US colleagues and I have made huge steps toward giving the United States destination status for Chinese tourists,” Shao Qiwei, chairman of Chinese National Tourism Administration, has been quoted as saying. “China and the US both are giants in tourism with global impact. The destination status will also help establish a win-win relationship between China and U.S. tourism industries.”

The official made this comments during a tourism promotion event called “China Tourism Night” in downtown Los Angeles, California.

“With the boom in the economy and healthy development of Sino-US ties, more Chinese tourists are hoping to travel to the United States,” said Qiwei.

On the other hand, a tourism official from the US has expressed concern over the strict visa process of their country, which would block Chinese travelers, as well as business opportunities. Mark Liberman, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau reportedly said that the major problem is related to visa. “We wish that more Chinese tourists can travel to the United States, and especially here, Los Angeles. They can visit a lot of famous attractions here, such as Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, and the beaches, they can also visit their relatives living here,” he said.

Approximately 530,000 Chinese visited America last year, an increase of 20 percent, and the US has become the sixth largest overseas tourist destination for Chinese. The United States became the fifth most popular destination for Chinese tourists. In 2005, over 31.02 million Chinese tourists went overseas, an increase of eight percent.

China received 46.81 million overnight tourists in 2005, up 12 percent on the previous year, including 1.555 million tourists from the United States, up 19 percent.

As per the information available, China and the United States signed an aviation agreement in 2004 to increase the number of passenger and cargo flights allowed for Chinese and US carriers from 54 per week at that time to 249 in stages over the next six years.

Recently, it was shared that major US airline companies are competing for extra flights between China and the United States.

Theo Panagiotoulias, managing director of American Airlines in the Pacific, said that four US carriers have submitted applications to authorities for 28 more flights a week to China in 2007 even though a current Sino-U.S. agreement only allows seven more flights.

American Airlines plans to fly from Dallas to Beijing daily, United Airlines from Washington to Beijing, Continental Airlines from New York to Shanghai and Northwest Airlines from Detroit to Shanghai, according to Panagiotoulias.