A report released on January 10 called for reforms in China's visa policy to facilitate inbound tourism and narrow the growing tourist deficit.
"Reforms of Chinese visa policy hope to rebalance the tourist deficit" was jointly compiled by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a Beijing-based think tank, and Ctrip, a Chinese travel service provider.
According to the Henley Passport Index, China ranks 71st in terms of passport power, enjoying visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 74 destinations, while Japan with 190 destinations has the most powerful passport, including 68 with mutual visa exemption.
China now has bilateral visa-free travel agreements with 14 countries, Thursday's report noted, while suggesting the country extend the scope of visa exemption to make inbound and outbound tourism more liberating.
Thursday's report showed that China recorded a tourist deficit of 40.26 million (excluding inbound trips by borderers), an increase of 27.26% over 2015.
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