Chinese tourists are expected to gain access to the United
States soon as the two countries are likely to reach an agreement
to grant the US Authorized Destination Status by the end of this
year, the Oriental Morning Post reported today.
The second round of negotiations is scheduled to kick off in the
middle of this month, said Du Jiang, deputy chief of the National
Tourism Administration.
The US Department of Commerce hopes the negotiations will be
completed within this year, Du said.
"If the negotiation fares well, we also hope it can yield
results within this year," Du said.
Once the deal is signed, Chinese people will be able to travel
to the US with a tourist visa.
Eighty-six countries and regions including Germany, South Korea
and Japan currently have Authorized Destination Status, the report
said.
The volume of people travelling between China and the United
States hit 2.35 million last year, according to the figure released
by the National Tourism Administration.
(Shanghai Daily November 8, 2007)
