China to Allow Canadians to Visit Visa-Free as Ottawa and Beijing Seek Closer Ties

China often uses travel restrictions as a pressure tactic.

A police officer stands outside the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on May 9, 2023. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

China says Canadian passport holders will be able to travel to China without needing a visa starting on Feb. 17 for tourism and business stays of up to 30 days.

The announcement is the latest development as Ottawa and Beijing seek closer ties, and it follows on the heels of a series of agreements to ease tariffs between the two countries.

A spokesperson for China’s foreign affairs ministry says China will extend its visa waiver policy to Canadian passport holders “to further facilitate cross-border travel,” adding that the policy will be in effect until the end of this year. The policy will also apply to UK passport holders.

“Ordinary passport holders from the two countries can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes,” a spokesperson said.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand confirmed the change in a Feb. 15 social media post, saying the new policy will make travel easier, support business exchanges, and strengthen “people-to-people ties” between Canada and China.

China has previously used travel restrictions as a pressure tactic. In 2023, Beijing left Canada off its list of approved destination countries for group tours when it eased COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions, saying the move was due to remarks against China. At that time, the issue of Chinese interference in elections and meddling in Canada’s other democratic institutions was a subject of a public inquiry and media scrutiny.

As Ottawa began seeking closer ties with China late in 2025, the communist regime lifted this restriction on Canada, allowing group tour operators to resume travel to Canada in November.

The recent change in policy regarding visas also comes after Ottawa made several agreements with Beijing during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China in January.

The office of the prime minister said on Jan. 16 that Carney welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s “commitment to introducing visa-free access for Canadians travelling to China.”

The office also stated that Ottawa and Beijing would “explore further opportunities for cultural exchanges and partnerships” to increase travel exchanges and cultural ties, including supporting museums, digital content creators, and visual artists.

In a memorandum of understanding signed during the China trip, Destination Canada and China Media Group agreed to “facilitate further outbound tourism to Canada,” especially as Canada prepares to cohost the FIFA World Cup, the prime minister’s office stated.

Although China had dropped visa requirements for other Western countries in recent years amid efforts to boost tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing maintained a visa requirement for Canadians and restricted the number of Chinese tourism groups that could visit Canada during years of strained relations between the two countries.

After Carney’s visit to China in January, the prime minster said Ottawa and Beijing had entered a “strategic partnership” and that relations between the two countries were entering “a new era.” He also said the progress made in the relationship sets Canada up well “for the new world order.”

These comments were met with criticism by Canadian conservatives and China watchers. Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre said the federal government must explain how its tone on China has changed so drastically, as Carney said less than a year ago, during the 2025 election campaign, that China was Canada’s “biggest security threat.” Conservative member of Parliament Shuvaloy Majumdar said Canada “does not belong in Beijing’s ‘New World Order.’”

Human rights and democracy groups have also raised concerns about Canada’s increasing closeness to China, saying that human rights violations by the Chinese regime have intensified and that human rights need to be at the forefront of Ottawa’s relationship with Beijing.

The U.S. administration has also criticized Ottawa’s move to strengthen ties with Beijing. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that it may jeopardize the review of the United States–Canada–Mexico Agreement set for later this year.