People visit a lantern show ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Selangor state, Malaysia, Feb. 7, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's mutual visa-exemption agreement with Malaysia officially took effect on Thursday, further expanding the country's visa-free travel policy.

Under the policy, Chinese and Malaysian citizens holding valid ordinary passports can enter, exit or transit through the other country for travel without a visa. Each stay should not exceed 30 days, with a cumulative limit of 90 days within any 180-day period.

The policy comes into effect three months after China and Malaysia signed a mutual visa-free agreement, marking another step forward in China's efforts to ease travel and boost international exchanges.

Since Dec. 1, 2023, China and Malaysia have been implementing a trial visa-free policy for each other's ordinary-passport-holding citizens. In 2024, Chinese tourists made over 3.8 million visits to Malaysia, making China the largest source of tourists to Malaysia from outside the ASEAN region.

The signing and implementation of the agreement indicate that the effectiveness of the previous visa-free entry policy has been recognized by both the governments and people of the two countries, said Azman Ujang, chairman of the think tank Malaysia-China Research.

The policy has facilitated mutual communication between people of the two countries and strengthened their friendship, and the exchanges between the peoples laid a solid foundation for the continued extension of the visa-free policy, he said.

According to Lee Thai Hung, deputy director general of Tourism Malaysia, the agreement has reassured Malaysian tourism operators and boosted their confidence, and he believes the cooperation between the two countries' tourism industries will become more stable and robust.

Malaysia's tourism authorities and industry operators are also actively making plans to enrich the travel experience, add more tourism facilities and signage, and enhance safety measures, all in preparation to welcome more Chinese tourists, Lee said.

As of May, China had signed mutual visa-exemption agreements with 157 countries, covering different types of passports. In November 2024, it extended the visa-free entry stay period to 30 days.