(Yicai) June 25 -- China will expand the scope of its visa-free policy to New Zealand, Australia, and Poland on July 1 to further promote international exchanges.

Holders of ordinary passports from New Zealand, Australia, and Poland can stay in China for 15 days without a visa for business, tourism, or visiting friends and relatives, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today. The policy is valid till the end of next year.

Before this, China opened visa-free access to citizens of Germany, Italy, Malaysia, and nine others earlier this year.

In turn, since the beginning of last year, Chinese citizens have been able to enter Poland without a visa for up to 90-day stays.

From January to May, 12 million foreigners visited China, and almost 60 percent of them without a visa, according to immigration data. The daily average was 80,000 people, up almost three times from a year ago.

Editor: Emmi Laine