According to Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of Russia, both China and Russia have expressed willingness to extend their visa-free policy for each other. The two sides will review the implementation of the policy in the first quarter and decide on further steps based on this assessment.
In September 2025, China launched a one-year pilot program granting visa-free entry to individual tourists from Russia, while Russia implemented a reciprocal visa-free policy for Chinese citizens starting December 1, 2024.
On March 31, 2026, Maxim Reshetnikov stated clearly during an interview with Russia’s Izvestia newspaper: “We are interested, and so is China. We need a solution to preserve this policy in some form. The issue lies in whether to formalize it through a bilateral agreement or maintain it via unilateral measures.” He also revealed that the Russian Ministry of Economic Development will jointly develop a position proposal on extending the visa-free policy with the Foreign Ministry during the second quarter of 2026.
Additionally, according to a report by Izvestia on April 6, 2026 citing sources within Russia’s Foreign Ministry, China has informed Russia that it is prepared to extend the visa-free policy for Russian citizens by one year, until September 2027.
Expert Analysis: Unlikely to Become Permanent Visa-Free Access
Alexey Maslov, Dean of the School of Asia and Africa at Moscow State University, analyzed that China does not wish to grant any country special long-term privileges and remains cautious about migration risks. Currently, no country has signed a permanent mutual visa exemption agreement with China. It is expected that the extension will be phased—either for one year or several years. This view aligns with China’s current visa-free policy model: in November 2025, China extended unilateral visa-free access for over 40 countries, but all were limited-time extensions.
In summary, the China-Russia mutual visa exemption policy is highly likely to be extended after its expiration in September 2026. The core issues now revolve around the specific form of extension (bilateral agreement versus unilateral arrangement) and the duration. The final decision is expected to be announced by August 2026; until then, it is recommended to closely monitor further updates from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and official channels of both countries.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861726934390784/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) alone.