Thanks to the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC), entrepreneurs from Beijing have been able to travel to 16 APEC economies, from the snowy Moscow to the cherry-blossomed Tokyo, achieving substantial results in economic and trade cooperation.
On the morning of January 17, at the First Large-scale Issuance Ceremony of APEC Business Travel Cards & Exchange Meeting 2024 held by the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, six companies including Schneider Electric, GigaDevice, Dajia Internet, and Zhi-Tech Group, received their ABTCs.
This card, also known as the “civilian diplomatic passport”, enables Chinese cardholders to travel freely within a five-year validity period to 16 APEC economies, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, and Russia. Cardholders enjoy a stay of 60 to 180 days for each visit and fast-track customs clearance at the major entry and exit ports of each economy.
Beijing launched its first ABTC in 2010 and has issued 9,678 cards for nearly a thousand companies over the past 14 years. Business personnel holding the cards have left their footprints across the 16 APEC economies with fruitful achievements in economic and trade cooperation.
ABTC applications witnessed a strong recovery last year
As a multilateral visa facilitation measure to promote economic and trade exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region, the issuance of this card has provided tremendous support for facilitating cross-border business travels and expanding overseas business.
Yang Xuan, senior engineer at Schneider Electric, said that thanks to the ABTC - a valuable tool for international travel, he can now leave promptly whenever necessary, avoiding prolonged stays overseas. “The project I am responsible for is in Southeast Asia, and I need to go to the site as soon as possible based on customer requirements. With the ABTC, I can depart from the domestic office on short notice and arrive at the foreign project site on the same day, at the earliest. This not only greatly improves service, but also helps the company control the cost.”
The ABTC also serves as an endorsement for companies’ qualifications, facilitating their overseas market expansion. Ma Hongbin, Senior Vice President of Kuaishou Technology, received an invitation from an Indonesian MCN company on the same day he acquired the card. Without the need for a visa application, he boarded a flight to Jakarta on that day. It is this visit that enabled the company to open up the Indonesian market. Ma said, “With high local recognition, the ABTC provides a strong endorsement for our company’s strength and credibility, facilitating negotiations and contract signing.”
Since last year, Beijing has witnessed a rapid surge in cross-border exchanges and international interactions. Beijing’s foreign affairs office is committed to continuously promoting the ABTC through on-site visits, online Q&A sessions, and policy promotion events, thereby helping companies seize business opportunities, expand international markets, and stabilize overseas supply chains. It is reported that in 2023, Beijing saw a robust recovery in ABTC applications, with 776 applications processed, up by 300% year-on-year.
Application process eased to further benefit companies
The easier the process is, the more companies can benefit from the policy.
To maximize benefits for companies at the institutional level, Beijing has taken steps to refine the assessment system of companies’ qualifications based on core indicators such as registered capital, number of employees, and tax credit rating. Innovative enterprises and small and micro start-ups, among other application entities, will benefit from targeted measures that lower certain thresholds and eliminate restrictions on registered capital and asset-liability ratio.
In terms of the review process, sixteen districts, the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-council (CCPIT Beijing), are responsible for processing ABTC applications of companies in their respective districts or systems. Additionally, 30 powerful and reputable foreign-funded or export-oriented enterprises with high demand, including Schneider Electric and Taikang Insurance, are able to submit their ABTC application directly to the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office. Notably, the official website of the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office has also built an application portal, enabling companies to submit all materials online and visit the site only once to collect the card.
In order to better serve high-quality development and high-level opening-up, the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office will continue to act on the philosophy of foreign affairs for the people to enhance the convenience and efficiency of the ABTC applications. “Our top priority is to figure out the actual needs of companies and help card users solve specific problems. We will implement more pilot policies, make timely adjustments to the list of companies eligible for direct application, optimize the annual qualification review process, and develop AI-powered FAQs to provide tangible benefits for companies,” said an official from the Office.
