BEIJING, March 12: Pakistan has relaxed its visa policy for Chinese tourists and businessmen to strengthen people-to-people contact between the two countries.

Under the policy, Chinese travelling agencies and tour operators would be allowed to apply for group visa, said an official of Pakistan embassy here.

He said that travelling between the two countries increased in the recent year. The number of visas issued by the embassy was 4,190 in 2002 as against 1,811 in the year 2001.

The sources hoped that number of Chinese travelling to Pakistan for tourism and business would further rise, as there was a growing trend in the development of Pakistan-China relations in the socio-economic sector.

To encourage maximum interaction among people of the two countries, the Chinese government had also included Pakistan in the list of popular tourist destinations.—APP