Uzbekistan is offering Chinese citizens seven-day visa-free travel in what the Uzbek government says is an attempt to boost tourism.
The waiver will be available from the start of 2020 to both citizens of mainland China and Hong Kong, according to a presidential decree signed by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev on September 12.
It will apply only to travelers flying out of Chinese international airports.
In cases where routes include a third destination, visitors from China will be restricted to five-day visa-free travel.
Uzbekistan has taken steps under Mirziyoev to increase the number of visits to the country by foreigners, which doubled in 2018 to 5.3 million people.
For 2019, it has worked out a program under which visas issued by Kazakhstan would be accepted by Uzbekistan, and vice versa.
With China added to the list, there are now 65 countries whose citizens are eligible for visa-free travel in Uzbekistan.
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