——Qingdao Airport Border Control, Witness to China’s New Practice of High-Level Opening By Zhao Zhijin – Deputy Producer and Anchor at CGTN-French
In December 2025, during my reporting at the border control hall of Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport, China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy marked its first anniversary. This major measure, applicable to 55 countries across 65 open ports in 24 Chinese provinces, has opened a new practical pathway for foreign travelers entering China, embodying the country’s commitment to “unswervingly advancing high-level opening” and demonstrating the confidence and tolerance of a great nation.
I arrived at the airport around 9 a.m., and shortly afterward, a wave of international flights landed. I noticed that international passengers passed through border control very quickly, without long queues—thanks to “dual preliminary” policies such as online pre-filling of arrival cards and pre-collection of biometric data, as well as various measures focused on body temperature checks and efficiency in managing China’s entry and exit processes.
According to Jiang Lei, captain of the 6th service team at Qingdao Airport border control, the National Immigration Administration launched ten new immigration and entry-exit service measures in November 2025. Among them, the “expansion of ports eligible for 24-hour direct transit exemption from border formalities” was implemented in Qingdao: passengers holding an international connecting ticket within 24 hours can now board their next flight directly without going through border control, greatly simplifying the process.
The border control practices at Qingdao Airport are a microcosm of China’s entry-exit opening policies. Thanks to these concrete facilitation measures, Qingdao, a tourist destination in eastern China, has become more accessible and increasingly visited by international travelers. The figures speak for themselves: in the first 11 months of 2025, total entries and exits through Qingdao Airport exceeded 3 million, up 23.9% compared to the same period the previous year. Of these, more than 430,000 were foreign travelers entering China, a remarkable year-on-year increase of 51.3%. Foreigners entering China without a visa accounted for over 70% of all foreign visitors, with nationals from the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the United States leading the way.
“The pressure is greater,” is a consensus among Qingdao border control officers, “but the motivation is even stronger.” During the interview, Wang Pei, deputy captain of the 5th service team, stated: “We are the first step for foreigners entering China, and we want to leave them with a first impression of openness, tolerance, and friendliness through our service.” In practice, they have achieved this: to cope with the rising passenger flow, the checkpoint added verification lanes during peak hours, created a “dedicated zone for tourist group checks” and priority lanes, and provided guides in four languages along with intelligent translation devices, offering foreign tourists a warm welcome.
Through the “small window” of Qingdao Airport, one can glimpse the “big panorama” of China’s opening. The Central Economic Work Conference of December 2025 clearly listed “persisting in international opening and promoting win-win cooperation in multiple fields” among its priorities, outlining the central direction of China’s opening strategy. With confidence and forward positions like Qingdao, China continues to expand access, join hands with the world to write a new chapter of win-win cooperation, and make its high-level opening a new driving force for shared global development.