Chinese President Xi Jinping praises China's solid progress despite challenges in the Year of the Dragon.
The domestic film market booms as China's Spring Festival box office experiences a surge in demand.
end… and data reviews a significant rise in international rivals, reflecting the impact of China's expanded visa -free policy.
Welcome to Road Today, the spring festival edition on Guyana in Beijing.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended new year greetings to all Chinese people on the mainland in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and all over the world.
He also lauded China's solid progress amid complex and challenging situations over the past 12 months at a high -level reception to reign in the Chinese New Year.
The Chinese President stressed high -quality development, deepening reforms and expanding high -level opening up as major tasks for the last year of China's 14th Five -Year Plan.
He also expressed hope that the Chinese people would work hard to write a new chapter in the Chinese path toward modernization.
To talk more on this, joining us on the line is Liu Jiqing, senior follow of Changyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Rheanmin University of China.
President Xi Jinping mentioned China's can -do spirit in overcoming challenges in the Year of the Dragon.
So from your perspective, how has this resilience translated into tangible outcomes for the Chinese people, especially in terms of economic recovery and technological advancements in the past year?
As we know, in the past, that is 2024, it is very special for China because China achieved the wonderful results in the economic development in facing the uncertainties and challenges.
So in this way, we should say that last year is very essential and crucial and special for China.
So that's why we are having more confidence to deal with all problems and difficulties we are facing in 2025.
So, in this way we should say that the central government and also the part has caught can do spread in order to encourage the whole nation and all economic circles to do more efforts to stimulate and promote our economic development in the year So we are facing more challenges, but we have more policies and solutions to deal with all these difficulties.
That's why we have full confidence to deal with all these problems.
The beauty on that, as you said, we've seen a series of policies introduced by the government aimed at stabilizing the economy.
Then which of these policies do you believe will have the most lasting impact on China's future growth and global competitiveness?
This is a very important question.
As we know, in facing the uncertainty and the challenges, the major economic development always depends on the right policy support.
So in China, we have seen that many policies are always in the basis to stimulate our economic development, especially the encouraging innovation.
And also, our principle of the economy is the first priority to stabilize it.
Because we're only with the stabilizing, we can make further progress.
So, we have already fulfilled this major policy by a stabilized economy, we have more innovations to make our progress.
So this is a everlasting policy for China – for before, for today, even for the future.
So, how to make the policy, stabilizing our economic development will have more chances to have more progress than secondly is the sense for the green development in China, That just will last for the next 20 or 30 years.
Green development in China is very essential, that is why our government has put more emphasis on, and more budget and talented people to invest in this field.
This policy will help China to be modernized in a short time.
As we'll look at China's economic position on the rail stage, President Xi Jinping emphasized China's role as a major engine for global economic growth.
What do you think are the key factors driving China's position as an economic powerhouse in the past year?
Actually, two sections that are major important for China as well for the global market.
As President Xi said, China will still play a major engine for global economy.
that's true because from two things we kind of realize and recognize this fact.
First from the technical innovation, nowadays the whole world is shocked by China's the company and that by the deep seek this innovation so that's made a greater progress for China because deep shake deep seek is already becoming a deep shift, that is shifting the Western science and the technical field, to pay greater respect and attention to China's innovations.
So innovation is one of the best agents for China to make contributions.
Of course, the second is the major manufacturing section that China can make and produce all around the paradox in the world.
So this is the major resource, not only for China, but also for external global market.
So in this way that China will still play an important and constructive role to promote economic development, becoming the major engine of promoting the economic recovery.
Over the past year, we have seen more people, especially in regions influenced by active Western narratives, come to understand the real China through sports events and grassroots exchanges.
For example, as you just mentioned, the overnight surge in popularity of deep -seek, the rise of Chinese apps like Ratnot with TikTok refugees migrating to the platform, and, team China's impressive performance at the Paris Olympics, which was also noted in the speech, how do you view the impact of such events, like the sports events, international business expansion, and the rise of Chinese brands on reshaping China's global image over the past year?
Yes, that's true. As we know, the Olympic Games are always at the major stage for all countries to show their ability and their capability even the resilience and the dynamic power.
So for China I think Paris Olympics that China has made great performance that really has received the world on the image of China.
I still remember many events that the Chinese players have make a great achievement for instance the water project, especially the diving swimming, they are so advanced, first -class performance and the second also we know that the world -famous the ping -pong players in Paris showed high technological and high speed of the Chinese culture so all these events can really reshape the chinese image to the world that we are very dynamic, we are very inclusive, we are very progressive and also continuous to all members in the world.
So this is also one fundamental basis for chinese culture and economic development, That's why China always has to encourage us to deal with all difficulties and uncertainties we are facing during the Olympic Games and tell the full story to the world.
Then looking at H 2025 we know that China is set to deepen its reforms and continue its economic recovery.
How do you interpret the focus and priorities for the year of the snake based on the themes online in President Xi's speech.
As we know that the year 2025 is also very important, of course, for China.
This is the last year of the 14th Five -Year Plan, and we're prepared for next year this new five plans.
So this is very important for China to make all efforts, to make all round of industries in economic sections to be fulfilled with our target and the goals.
So we have to prepare in three ways I think to fulfill our, the target.
First is I think more AI more did a smart and talented innovation.
That is AI section is quite important.
And the more green development development, because the green development issue will become the major focus in China's economy.
Even when we are facing that, the American side already click out from Paris' acts.
China has to take over all these responsibilities and efforts to fulfill the touches for the U .N.
and to make the green development more popular and more stronger.
And the third, I think all of this development will be very harmonized with the humanization in order to put, to help people, to live up their life quality.
These three touches as infectious will be closely followed by Chinese people and the Chinese government.
The finally, President Xi spoke about improving living standards and ensuring the benefits ways of modernisation are shared more equitably across society, then what policies and areas of focus can we expect in 2025 regarding people's livelihoods?
Yeah, that's true. The Chinese government is facing always two challenges.
One challenge is to extend on certain issues that are imposed on Chinese economic development.
We are very optimistic but we are very realistic to deal all these difficulties that could from Western power that that was still to restrain and suppressing China's development especially in the scientific advancement.
Actually, China also had another effort that has always tried basically to improve the high quality life of the people.
Now, you should the last year and in the original time the Chinese government had followed a series of policies to support the people to exchange their old facilities at home that with the new one, and also a good subsidy to buy some digital equipment for instance, mobile phone, an iPad or a computer set with some financial support from the government.
Nowadays they promote to have a new policy, to have a new houses to be renovated with the subsidies of the government.
For instance, decoration or renovation of the new houses will be also put in the agenda of the people's life.
So this all is focusing on how to make the people's life more easier, more comfortable, and more happiness.
So how to make the high quality of the people's life is still the final touch on the goal of our reform and opening.
Thanks for your insightful analysis.
That was Liu Jieqing, Senior Fellow of the Chengyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.
Coming up, the domestic affiliate market booms as China's Spring Festival box office experiences a surge in demand.
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Stay with us for more in -depth news and analysis.
Hello. I am Dr. Digby James Wren, a political analyst and international relations scholar specializing in China area studies.
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China's film market is off to a strong start in 2025.
As of Monday, presales for China's Spring Festival holiday films have reached 1 billion yuan, approximately $140 million, setting a new record for the quickest time to hit this milestone.
Domestic movies themed on wuxia, also known as martial arts, Chinese mythology and fantasy the pre -sale chart.
The annual spring festival, which runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 this year, is one of China's most lucrative moviegoing seasons.
Observers believe this season has the potential to break records in box office revenue and attendance.
For more, my colleague Xu Yaowen spoke with Dr. Zhou Mi, senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International trade and economic cooperation.
Dr. Zhou, pre -sales for films during China's Spring Festival holiday have reached one billion yuan in just 9 days.
What factors do you think are contributing to this record -breaking surge in early sales?
Yes we know that movies are really important ways for people to have the entertainment.
Especially for Spring Festival, I think that most of the families will stay together.
maybe one of the choices is that they can go to the cinema to watch the movies, and we know that this spring festival is a little bit earlier compared with the previous year, I mean the year of 2024.
So the people come back earlier and they have some several kind of measures to have some entertainment.
So to see the movie is one of them.
And the second I think that also, when we're looking at the list of these films, I think really are attracting for me, because we see that there are several different types of movies and maybe it fits for different people.
So I think that is, you know, there's two factors and third one, I think that is also improved that abilities and skills or technology for the moviemakings.
So this is really attracting more people to go to the cinemas.
We have noticed that as you also briefly just mentioned that all six movies debuting during the spring festival this year are domestic productions.
For example, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Great Hero, and Adaptation of a Chinese Wuxia Classic is leading the pre -sale charts, and also Noja II and Creation of the Gods II, Demon Force, both based on Chinese myths, ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Why do you think these type of movies with strong Chinese cultural elements are so appealing to audiences this year?
Yeah, we know that people of China are really, we are very proud of what the history has told us.
So even in the very ancient time, I think that people are really trying to think about the times that so far away.
It's so long ago. I think that is the really are a kind of things that we will have to know about.
And second that we know that Chinese people have learned these tales and you know, the stories once and once again, so they are really are appreciating those people.
So they want to go to the movies.
Some of them are going to record their childhood when they are reading those books, and imagine different characteristics really look like.
So if they can go to see the movie, and they can just compare with their imagination and also the products of those films, they will have better enjoyment.
And second I think that is also very interesting, because the Chinese people are really… taking the Spring Festival, very important holidays.
They want to stay here and have a very, and I don't want to say it's only the joyful things, but they want to be a little bit glad and they want to have better moods on these movies.
All these six movies are really, not just trying to give the culture enjoyment, but also some of the improvement of the inspiring or some of the gases, or some other ideas.
I think that it's a really diversify so they can really help the people to understand that to be a Chinese It's a very proud things that we have so many pressures history and also a lot of Fairies and tales domestic films now account for more than 80 % of China's box office and this trend seems to be continuing How do they compare to international blockbusters in terms of audience appeal?
Yeah. I think that Chinese people are really having their own local characteristic.
If we are compared with the international market, I think that international markets are a little bit surprising to us in the past by the technology, by some of the ideas of shooting those movies.
But when we're looking at the movies in the recent years, we found that the own Chinese local -made movies are becoming, attracting more, and they are catching up with the skills and the standard and even technology of the international ones.
So they are really are not just some kind of following what they are doing.
We are also trying to create more images.
And this is a really interesting for a lot of people.
And mind standing that some of the Chinese filmmakers are even creating better technology to tell the stories And also to connect, you know, the feelings inside of the Chinese people.
So, we have more understanding about the Chinese cultures and, you know, some of these books are already in our brains.
So we are connecting with these elements, and making it more attractive.
And it's not only for Chinese people, I mean, there's, a foreign audience here also want to see some of the mysterious stories of the Chinese make movies and they really want to do more, to learn more about Chinese history and also the enjoying the ways of the Chinese director to show the movies.
Dr. Zhou in an effort to boost movie -going, the China film administration has actually launched a 600 million yuan subsidy campaign, and also local governments are also issuing vouchers.
So how effective do you think these incentives play a role in encouraging cinema attendance especially during a spring festival holiday.
We know that we have put the conception as the core of our commercial businesses and also for the development of China's economy in the year of 2025.
So for the conception, I think there are so many different ways like to buy a product or just to go for the tourism.
Well, to enjoy the films is another choices.
So in the recent months, we see that the governments are sending a very clear signal that we want to improve the consumption a lot.
It's not only about to buy the things but also enjoy the very good pieces of the movies.
So I would say that if you're looking at the different plans and also the measures or policies of the local governments, you really want to take the opportunities of the festivals.
I mean, the Spring Festival is a universal festivals for all the Chinese provinces and areas.
So we want to use these period to encourage the people to buy more things to pay for the you know a different kind of conception.
Well to go to to see the movie is one of the best choices, because that will not create so many pollutions and also will not, you know, waste a lot of resources.
So we want to encourage that.
So this kind of subsidies is really an important one for the people to enjoy and trying to benefit from the prices, as you may find from the prices this year.
It's pretty – almost the same compared with the previous year, although the length of the movies are even longer than the previous movies.
So we keep it very attractive prices for consumers to go to the cinema.
And lastly, Dr. Zhou, Morgan Stanley forecasts that China's total box office revenue for the holiday period could reach a record 8 .8 billion yuan, marking a 9 % increase from last year.
So, what are the key factors driving this optimism?
Well, we know that Morgan Stanley is an investment company, so they have some kind of observation of the data.
So I think that for the people who are going to to consume in them cinemas that really are not that poor people So they have money and they have the time So for the people I think that for Chinese most of the Chinese people we are having a lot of you know The consumption in the Spring festivals So when they observe that data and they believe that the movement of the people in China are growing very quickly in this this year and so they have the and the belief that we will consume more.
Well, if you compare with, you know, different times, I think this year, when we see the list of these movies, they are attractive, even for me.
I want to go to the cinema to watch the movies with my family, and maybe not just once.
So I have several choices.
And I think that these movies are really attractive because some of them are just the, you know, the episode for the previous episode.
suit, so we can learn more about what will happen after the first movies several years ago.
So we have some anticipation and expectations.
And I believe that is really a nice day for us to observe, you know, that increase of the people's conceptions are increasing.
Well for another angle I would say that the Chinese government are creating a longer vacation compared with the previous year.
So we have eight days of the holidays.
Now as Dr. Zhou Mi's senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
More to come. Data reviews a significant rise in international arrivals reflecting the impact of China's expanded visa -free policy.
You've been listening to World Today.
stay tuned for more updates and insights.
Welcome back to Road Today, the Spring Festival edition.
I'm Ke 'anawe in Beijing.
The data from various entry access stations across China indicated notable increase in international arrivals following the one -year implementation of China's visa -free policy.
Since December 2023, China has been gradually expanding its visa -free policy to include nationals from 38 countries.
This allows visitors to stay for up to 30 days for purposes such as business, tourism and other activities without a visa.
Additionally, citizens from 54 other countries can also benefit from a 240 -hour -or -10 -day free transit option.
To explore how this policy is shaping China's diplomacy, international standing, and cultural exchanges, I earlier engaged in a conversation with Mario Kovlo, founder and CEO of NIFM Communications Group.
Han Huan, co -founder and Secretary -General of Beijing Club for International Dialogue, and Robert Wu, CEO of Big One Lab, and myOne newsletter.
To start on a lighter note, this policy has made international travel simpler for many.
Have you, your friends, or colleagues experienced any conveniences or memorable moments because of this?
Amara, would you like to start?
Sure, I'd be happy to, and I recall the fact that here in Shenyang, frankly, the substantial international community is rooted in Germany, and that's of course because of BMW's automotive presence here.
They're the largest single taxpayer of the city, and they've created a substantial German automotive industry infrastructure.
Then in being here over these six years, frankly, most of the that we know and have that our foreigners happen to be German, and that was so many of our friends who during the pandemic got stuck, they left, and there was this one particular friend of ours in mind, he was in a WeChat group, his name was Marcus, he doesn't mind me telling you his name, and he was just begging to come back, he was just like, oh I gotta get back, I've gotta get back, and then I get a call from him about three weeks ago, Mario come meet me for dinner with all our friends, and I was like, oh you're here, He says, yep,
15 day free visa program.
I took advantage of it immediately and bought a ticket and came back.
So that's the story with Marcus.
And it's just a great example of so many other people who are just so happy that China has opened up in this way.
We can also feel your friend's excitement here.
Unbelievable, he was so happy.
He was just like, he called me to surprise me and come for dinner tonight, I'm here.
I'm here. He was so happy to be back.
Hen, have any of your friends benefited personally from this policy?
Well, first and first, Anna, thank you for sharing with us these amazing numbers of increase of domestic and overseas travelers coming into China in different cities.
These numbers are amazing and I believe it will be growing more substantially in the future because the visa -free policy has just been implanted in over one year.
And this extension from 15 days to 30 days, for example, for some Central Asia countries, I believe it will bring more tourists down the road.
And the story Mario shared is like both sad and happy, happy at the end of the day.
So it is make me so excited about that.
For me my personal experience is that because I'm leading this new model, new type of think tank, we need a lot of overseas experts, scholars to have more exchange direct to face -to -face So these visa policies certainly were benefit with these kind of our initiatives of more dialogues, more exchanges face to face.
And last year when I went to Uzbekistan for this preparation of the Central Asia and China Summit, I didn't need a visa because at that time it was 10 days visa -free policy.
And when I told the officials there in Uzbekistan, I told them that because Uzbekistan has such a great history culture and in history about the Asian Silk Road, they have a lot of many famous cities that I want to explore as a personal traveler.
And they said, okay, 10 days are good enough for you to enjoy this kind of travel.
But, still, at that time, the two parties were discussing, were already discussing about the extension of the visas to more days.
And most recently, in Chengdu, the two ministers from Uzbekistan, from China, signed the agreement to greet the extension of the visa.
And my friends in Uzbekistan already said, OK, you can come to our country and have a more substantial travel plan to enjoy our cities within 30 days.
And same here for this country, and they can have more travelers coming to China.
So this is the most recent and very personal case I want to share with you.
Plus, my families, my working colleagues, and some of the partners they even mentioned about going to this country in particular to explore some business opportunities there.
What a perfect moment, I better help us connect.
Robert, how do you perceive this policy?
Yeah, thanks, Anna.
So we are an alternative data company, which means we provide services and data products for many of the international investors all around the world.
I remember before this visa free policy, when we go to investment investment conferences in China hosted by those investment banks like Morgan Stanley, for example, in Beijing and Shanghai, there were one of the first investment conferences that we actually didn't meet any international investors.
And that's also partly because of the, you know, immediately after COVID, right?
But since this policy, I saw, and I witnessed palpable changes in terms of having, you know, more and more of these international investors, especially the European investors coming back, for example, in the investment summits held by the same investment bank in Beijing, for example, I started to see these more foreign faces coming back.
And it's, I think it's great for them to have a human touch when they look at the China market, and they make their investments when they investing stocks and equities in bonds in China, so for them to resume business travels, and also personal travel.
And also, beyond my job, I am based in Shanghai, and I remember immediately after these visa -free policies, I start to see way more foreign visitors than before.
It's very palpable, I think, if you just walk around Shanghai during that period period of time.
According to reports, the visa -free policy has led to a dramatic increase in South Korean travelers to China, with some travel agencies seeing up to 75 percent rise in bookings.
As we know, it only takes more than an hour to fly from South Korea to China.
Robert, what do you think this search says about the demand for travel to China from neighboring countries?
It certainly shows there is a great demand, and the policy is really right on target.
And I'm actually a bit surprised why this policy hasn't extended to more neighboring countries faster.
So because China is pretty large, there are many regions, there are many places have touristy and many neighboring countries.
We also share some of the similar cultural heritage.
I know some of the classics of China have been also read or watched by the neighboring countries.
So, I think it just makes sense for them to spend some time, spend some of the holidays of occasions in China.
And it's also because of the convenience, right?
So, I think the numbers really are telling indeed the number make it clear that the China is becoming a popular destination for travelers from neighboring countries many reports mentioned that young Koreans are taking spontaneous weekend trips to China thanks to the convenience of the policy broad Mario how do you think this shift in travel behavior reflects broader changes in travel culture in the region?
Especially between, you know, China, Japan, South Korea?
Well, I love this question because I've been personally experiencing it as a resident of Shenyang and also here in Northeast China, very close to Korea, and also as a leisure traveler throughout Southeast Asia for the last couple of years since China opened up after the pandemic.
So, on both fronts, I'm very familiar and I really love this question.
You know the two aspects that I want to point out here—Shenyang here in the north, we are very close to both Koreas.
In fact, I can count a half a dozen times when we've gotten in the car and driven south through a beautiful Liaoning Province.
three -hour drive down into Dandong, right on the border of the Yalu River, where the Yalu Duan -Chao is, you know, the broken bridge from the Korean War.
And of course, 100 meters across the river is North Korea.
Well, South Korea as well flying into Seoul.
In fact, my brother from the United States and my mom, they also recently came.
They came on a longer trip, so they weren't able to take advantage of a 15 -day free visa program from the United States.
That That's not happening yet.
But they came, and in fact their connecting flight was through Seoul into Beijing, in fact.
So there's a tremendous connection and a crossing, a cross -culture between Korean community, traveling between Korea and here in the Northeast into Beijing and into Shenyang.
There's tremendous Korean culture up here, and we've seen the influence and the impact specifically in that regard.
And it points to the second part of the story and the question, which is about the regional travel.
This is the whole point.
I think everyone understands that the world economy, we don't have time to get into the whys and the wherefores, but the world economy overall, we're not in a boom time.
It would be nice if we were from around 1999 to 2009, the world was in more of a boom time and China certainly was the number one boom economy country at that time?
Well, we're not there anymore.
Europe's not there, China, Asia's not there, the United States is certainly not there, and that's just the reality.
So countries have to get together to figure out ways to stimulate the economy and open up the economies in a more cooperative way, as Xi Jinping always talks about, mutual cooperation to develop and completely away from anything that has to do with military and wars, which is a horrible side of what the West is doing so we have the situation that my wife and I've noticed we've traveled to five countries with our boy to give him great experiences here in Southeast Asia between the mainland and China not only are the visas are China's opened up the visas the other countries are opening up the visas
and also I want to mention they're bringing in the price of the airfare sound.
We flew into Vietnam for a holiday at a much lower airfare price.
In August we flew to Osaka in Kyoto for a much lower airfare price than previous.
So these are just fantastic benefits to people all over the world, people in the Southeast Asia and China mainland region, to enjoy and give everyone the chance to appreciate and share and experience other cultures.
And here we are with the 13 -year -old boy.
It's exactly what we want to do for him as he's growing up, right?
Yeah, what a great way to educate your children, right?
To go around and see the world.
Yeah, Han, what do you think?
You are also in Shanghai.
How do you view the growing number of neighboring countries' tourists coming to China?
Yes, I'm happy that Maria mentioned the very important factor of travelling, which is the cost and expenses.
So travelling to the neighboring countries is always the, I think, the first choice when people want to explore the overseas world.
And to take, also bear in mind, the cost and expenses and, also, the time consumption into that.
It is also a kind of investment.
So I think South Korea, China, also Japan, they're, like, mutually attractive to each other, to the people of each other country.
So in the past, I want to give you an anecdote, when China opened back in the late 70s and accelerated its growth in the 90s as I remember.
However, Japanese travelers, thanks to their economic growth and the very more dispensable income for individuals, they opted to choose China as very first destination after they traveled to US and Europe in the 80s.
So in the 90s, Japanese travelers, I was then in the late 90s, I was in the university in Shanghai, Shanghai Foreign Languages University.
Now it is called Shanghai International Studies University.
The Japanese language department, their graduates, the first choice of their career, of their job, is to become a tour guide for the Japanese travelers, so you can imagine how many Japanese travelers are coming to China to not only enjoy Shanghai, but Beijing, Xi and Chengdu, you name it.
So this is a neighboring country, luxury, all kind of paradise within distance, within access.
So I think this kind of travel habit is maintained.
And after the pandemic and since China's a new round of opening up to give more policies, more favorable policies in this visa -free.
So I believe that it's more like a two -way streets.
Not only South Korean travelers or Japanese travelers coming to China again, especially for the youngsters to New China again.
I'll say the same is two for the Chinese travelers to go to South Korea to enjoy the K -pop which is so popular in the world, and also to learn more about the, especially for Shanghai needs, they would even love to travel to Japan to do some shopping, so I think these are a two -way street.
Also, I love Mario's mentioning about to bring the kids to the neighboring countries at a comparatively lower cost, but enjoy the world.
So, I think the neighboring country's travel arrangement will be, you know, the top option and will generate more business benefits for both countries.
And also, not to mention about the mutually attractive culture, significant destinations, like I mentioned the Asian cities for China, the panda in Chengdu, as many, also the delicious food for Korean people and for Japanese people.
So there are many factors that can be mutually attractive.
Speaking of attractive factors, Robert, we know Shanghai is also the main destination for Japanese travelers, as Japanese rank at number three in terms of the number of inbound tourists to China by country.
What are some specific elements in your opinion of, you know, Shanghai's appeal are driving this trend, especially among young travelers?
Well, I think first of all, it's strategically located.
As you mentioned, it's actually within one hour or one point half hour flight between Shanghai and many of these eastern Asian countries and cities, right?
And that's also, as Han mentioned, it's also a two -way street.
That's also why many of the Shanghai residents, campaigns, they actually love to travel to Japan, to South Korea, for the weekends.
So I think all these visa -free policies are making a previously one -way street to a two -way communication.
And also, I think Shanghai just has a very unique position in China.
Both in that it's one of the first modernized and industrialized cities in China.
It was the gateway toward modernization but also has a very kind of blend, very interesting blend of both local and international culture.
And it also has many great shopping districts, right?
It has several, you know, it's a debatable question of whether there's a downtown in Shanghai.
Because the downtown area is actually pretty widespread, right?
So there are a variety of places to visit.
You have the Bund, which is famous for its architecture, for its historical importance.
You have the former French concession area, which is famous for the the trees, the houses, the coffee shops.
And in fact, actually, Shanghai has the highest density of coffee shops of the entire world.
Wow. So it's a very international city.
Robert? I must tell.
Just so you know, let me throw in a little bit of fun.
Shenyang has its new beautiful New Coffee Street right in the center of the historic area and there's all these coffee shops lined up on the tree lined street so we're catching up with Shanghai.
That's right. Speaking of individual experiences, China has introduced also several initiatives to further accommodate international travelers, like e -payment accessibility.
Foreign tourists can now use Alipay and WeChat Pay to experience the cashless or personalist society, to be more precise.
Mario, would you like to weigh in on this?
What specific elements of China's appeal, or Shanghai's appeal, in your opinion, are driving this trend especially among youngsters?
This is a really good question because I'm going to say I can't think of one because I would look at it from the point of view of saying okay so China has gone ahead and opened up the country.
I mean, frankly as a foreign policy this is probably one of the most brilliant things that China has ever done and it's even like an accident.
I don't think they realized how good and successful it would really be.
What a beautiful idea to just open up the country, let everybody come and not let anybody hassle with visas anymore.
I mean it's like they did, it was almost like the Schengen rule in Europe, just opened up the borders, let everybody cross into each other's countries.
What a great idea. And that's essentially what China has done.
So looking at it though and saying, well, wait a minute now, there's all these foreigners out there.
I'm biased. I can't tell you because I'm in China for 25 years as a foreigner.
So I've lost my foreign perspective.
As they say, I'm a Zhongguo Ni She, I'm Chinese Chinese now, right?
I don't think of China as a foreigner, thinks of China.
So, I guess it would just be that they're obviously going to fly into Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing.
But to just experience those cities is terrific.
I mean, I lived in Shanghai myself, and I left many, many years.
My wife and I haven't been there, but she's still hankers to go back to Shanghai just for a holiday, simply because it's such a wonderfully culturally rich city, it's just got so many great moving parts, culturally speaking.
The comparison that I want to make is to say about the United States.
You say, well, you're a foreigner and you're going to go to the United States for the very first time.
That doesn't give us enough information to explain what it's like to go to the United States, because going to southern California is extremely different than going to Boston and Northeast.
It's extremely different than going to Little Italy and Chinatown and Manhattan and Queens, means, which is extremely different from going to Miami, Florida, and that Florida coast, which is also extremely different from going to Louisiana, New Orleans, and Dallas, Texas.
They're all completely different experiences even though they're America.
The same is true, of course, we know the same is true for China.
We talked about it a little bit before the show.
The feeling of life and culture here in the North, I've known this for 20 years since I've been 25 years being here in China.
We lived most of our time in Shanghai.
we also lived in Hainan Island.
We also lived in Hangzhou.
Every time I go to the north I would get a completely different vibe, a completely different feeling of culture.
And then when you move to somewhere like here in Shenzhen, Chongqin in the northeast, Heilongjiang, you get a further different feeling.
Then when you pop over to Chengdu you get a completely different, Chengdu and Chongqing, of course, in Sichuan, you get a completely different experience.
And then you're popping down to Guangzhou, same story, Guangzhou, Juhai, Dongguan, but every single one of those places that I've just mentioned, all of them are quintessentially China.
This is China, right?
And so for the incoming foreigners, this is this rich palette of culture, all within China and Chinese history, that it's all very Chinese, yet differentiated to these different regions to give them all very, very different experiences.
And I'm not going to say any one of those experiences, or any one of those cities is necessarily any better than the other.
They all offer fantastic, the different regions of China, the different major cities of China all offer remarkable cultural experiences for people to come and enjoy, and now they can.
Indeed. We choose in the view a country as a monolithic entity because every country has a rich and a diverse culture.
Han, speaking of this, did those experiences make them see China or, you know, traveling here differently?
Well, I love what you raised in the last question and what Mario shared.
This is so true. Even as a Chinese, I'm always and often amazed by the different culture, different heritage within China.
If I go to a different city or province, I'm from Shanghai, and I was born in Hangzhou.
I grew up in Shanghai, and I spent almost 20 years in Beijing now.
But every time I went to a different city in China, which I have never tapped into, I will be amazed by different culture, different food, different people.
So, and these experiences all contribute together to give you a very unique experience.
So for foreigners coming to China, I don't think one time is enough, certainly not.
But you need to start, even though the very first step, and the Chinese government by giving this free visa, and the one -sided visa actually to many European countries, and to Southeast countries, I think most countries are mutually visa -free.
So I think this is a very bold and very aggressive, very ambitious step to show that China is opening up to the world and to every travelers who are interested in coming to China to explore, not only for once, but for many more times ahead.
So I think this very first step.
No, because in the past we have offered some of these free policies on mutual, equal basis, this is like a reciprocal arrangement.
But now China's diplomacy, public diplomacy in particular, is becoming more confident.
And so it's just Just like Chinese government's saying that, do not just look at the Western media talking about China.
Just come and see what is your personal feeling about China, and what kind of opportunities you will have in China, or what kind of mutual exchange and this kind of happiness or unique experiences that you can get from China.
I think this is the very significant step and the significance of this opening up policy in visa.
Indeed. The policy has enabled more people to experience China's culture firsthand.
Robert, how has this affected global perception of China in your opinion?
Yeah, I think from our work with many of the international investors and businesses, I think it definitely has an impact in.
So as I mentioned, we had many meetings with these investors coming in, like this year for example.
Last year, some of our clients, actually for many years during the COVID, right?
We were basically on Zoom or on Teams all the time with our clients or potential clients.
And at some certain point, you feel really kind of out of touch, right?
I feel really out of touch with who am I speaking to.
Some of them I maybe have never met in person.
I think, you know, I can imagine my clients, our clients, are also going to be out of touch for many years.
You know, what's so great is that I've had so many visits from the clients.
Some of them came from Europe, from France, from Germany, from Singapore, I hosted many coffees and dinners with them.
And I think it's just palpable that when you have this human touch, and when they look around, pay visits to companies, pay visits to factories, you can feel that the difference is very palpable.
It's no longer going to be abstract.
It's no longer going to be just like two dimensional, even one dimensional.
Maybe even just voice, but now it's 3D.
It's actually maybe 4 dimensional with the taste, with the smell of it.
So it's necessary for investors to set up this kind of human touch and to live beyond the two -dimensional world constructed by media.
That's all for now on Road Today.
I'm Gu -onna in Beijing.
Thank you for joining us on this Spring Festival edition.
and wishing you all on a prosperous year of this night.
