Obama said US and China agree to 10 year visas for tourists and business travelers.
President Barack Obama said Monday that the United States and China have agreed to extend short-term travel visas for tourists and business travelers from one year to 10 years, and extend student and exchange visas from one to five years.
Obama was is in Beijing Monday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which was held in Honolulu in 2011.
For multiple-entry visas, the extension means no longer renewing for a visa every year.
In 2013, 1.8 million Chinese travelers visited the U.S. and contributed $21.2 billion to the economy and supporting 109,000 jobs. Of that, more than 130,000 visitors from China visited Hawaii, spending $328.6 million.
Chinese visitors to the U.S. is expected to reach 7.3 million in 2021 with annual expenditures of $85 billion a year and supporting 440,000 jobs.
A release from the White House noted that Chinese travelers rank the U.S. as their most-desired travel destination, but less than 2 percent of total outbound Chinese travelers visit the U.S. They cite ease of visa policies as the second most important factor in deciding where to travel, behind only cost.
Obama said extending the visa period will help the U.S. maintain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace and create jobs.
"Extending visa validity will bring the United States into line or surpass other destinations that have already eased visa restrictions for Chinese travelers such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan," he said in a statement. "The European Commission, France, Germany, and Italy are also taking steps to extend visa validity to Chinese travelers."
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