China Plans Tourist Visas for Kurdistan Region Citizens as Trade Ties Grow
China’s Consul General in Erbil added that nearly 50 students from the Kurdistan Region have travelled to China for educational purposes over the past three years.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Economic and trade relations between China and the Kurdistan Region are steadily expanding, with Chinese goods and vehicles gaining a growing presence in the region’s markets, China’s Consul General in Erbil said Wednesday.
Speaking to Kurdistan24, Liu Jun said economic and investment relations between China and the Kurdistan Region remain “robust and dynamic,” highlighting increased Chinese commercial activity across the region.
Liu said that over the past two to three years, Chinese products in the Kurdistan Region markets have expanded beyond electronic devices. Chinese vehicles, particularly new-energy and electric models, have also become increasingly common on the region’s streets.
He stressed the importance of strengthening people-to-people ties as a foundation for bilateral relations, noting that progress had been made on business visas.
According to Liu, several thousand business visas have already been issued this year to citizens of the Kurdistan Region.
He also announced that China is working to introduce tourist visas for citizens of the region.
“We are now working on issuing tourist visas,” Liu said. “Under our current policy, we can issue visas to tourist groups consisting of at least five people.”
He said tourism companies in the Kurdistan Region would need to coordinate with their Chinese counterparts, adding that China hopes to fully begin issuing tourist visas this year.
On education, Liu said 19 young people from the Kurdistan Region received Chinese government scholarships this year to pursue their studies in China.
He added that nearly 50 students from the Kurdistan Region have travelled to China for educational purposes over the past three years.
Liu reaffirmed China’s continued encouragement for young people from the Kurdistan Region to explore educational opportunities in the country, describing academic exchanges as another important component of growing ties between China and the region.
Beijing established its Consulate General in Erbil in 2014, marking the beginning of a stable and sustained diplomatic channel with the Kurdistan Region. Since then, high-level meetings between Kurdish officials and Chinese diplomats have regularly focused on regional stability and security, as well as expanding economic, trade, and investment cooperation.