Canada to announce the opening of seven new visa offices in China

ShutterStock

BEIJING—Canada’s ambassador to China says the government will announce that seven additional visa offices will open in the Asian country.

Speaking to reporters Thursday at the Great Wall of China, Guy Saint-Jacques said that until now, visa offices have been limited to cities where Canada had a diplomatic presence.

He said Chinese tourist travel to Canada went up 24 per cent in the first six months of this year, helping make China the third source of visitors after the U.S. and the U.K.

Saint-Jacques said a direct Air China flight was added in September 2015 between Beijing and Montreal _ a change that increased visits by Chinese tourists to the city by 200 per cent this year.

The ambassador joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his wife Sophie Gregoire and their daughter, Ella-Grace, at the Great Wall of China.

Trudeau’s week-long official visit to China continued Thursday as he met with Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People.