BEIJING: China confirmed that Canadian and British citizens will be able to visit the country visa-free from Tuesday, after the two countries’ leaders had announced such agreements following official trips to Beijing.

British and Canadian prime ministers Keir Star­mer and Mark Carney both visited Beijing in January, seeking to bolster relations with China and pivot from the increasingly mercurial United States.

Both leaders had hailed progress following meetings with top Chinese leaders such as President Xi Jinping, including on issues like visa-free access for their citizens to China.

Beijing’s foreign ministry confirmed these agreements on Sunday, saying Canadian and British citizens will be able to travel to China visa-free from Tuesday, with the policy in effect until December 31.

“Holders of ordinary pa­s­s­ports from these countries can enter China without a visa for business, tourism, visiting relatives and frie­n­ds, exchanges, or transit for a period not exceeding 30 days,” it said in a statement.

This was to “further faci­litate people-to-people exc­h­­­­a­­nges between China and other countries”, it said.

Relations with Germany

In a separate development, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi told German Cha­ncellor Friedrich Merz that Beijing hoped to bring bila­t­eral ties to a “new level”, as they met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

Wang has been trying to present Beijing as a more reliable and stable partner of the European Union, as the bloc seeks to reduce its dependence on both China and an unpredictable US.

He told Merz that China hoped to work with Germ­any to bring the “all-round strategic partnership to a new level”, according to a readout from Beijing’s foreign ministry.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2026