On the morning of May 20, the Hunan Tour for Visa Officials in China—Visa and Economic Policy Briefing was held in Changsha. Visa officers from countries including Algeria, Mexico, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda gathered in Hunan to deepen friendly exchanges and practical cooperation, supporting Hunan's high-level opening up.

The Visa and Economic Policy Briefing. (Photo provided by Hunan Iron and Steel Group)

Visas serve as the first gateway for international engagement, the authorization for economic and trade cooperation, and a vital link connecting domestic and international spheres. Yang Qi, deputy director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, noted that in recent years, Hunan has established a regular liaison mechanism between visa officers and industries, regularly sharing policies and official visit information, focusing on Hunan's competitive industries, and aligning with the needs of various countries to facilitate project implementation. At the same time, the province has stepped up support for international cooperation among universities, through academic exchanges, joint scientific research and other activities, with the establishment of green visa channels and dedicated foreign affairs service windows for key projects, offering one-stop convenient services.

At the meeting, the visa officers provided comprehensive interpretations of their countries' latest visa policies and economic and trade orientations, responding on the spot to core demands from enterprises and universities regarding visa processing timelines, facilitation channels, and investment promotion, thus achieving a deep alignment between policy offerings and cooperation needs.

Carlos Gimenez Zamudio, consul for Promotion of the Consulate General of the United Mexican States in Guangzhou, remarked, "Face-to-face communication with enterprises is an excellent opportunity. Compared to information on websites, direct exchanges can convey Mexico's cooperation information more accurately and meet the practical needs of enterprises." The head of Consular Affairs at the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in China commented, "The one-on-one exchanges allowed us to explain visa categories and processing procedures in detail. Such activities are productive and highly meaningful." The Immigration Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda in China emphasized that this event not only promoted Uganda's business environment and visa policies but also deepened the consensus on Uganda-China cooperation, broadening the paths for multi-dimensional collaboration between the two countries.

The "Face-to-Face" Exchange Session. (Photo provided by Hunan Iron and Steel Group)

During the event, the visa officer delegation will also visit leading enterprises and institutions such as the Hunan Iron and Steel Group, Zoomlion, Willfar Information, the Hunan Sunwalk Technology Group, the Hunan Broadcasting System, Chaoneng Robot World, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Innovation Demonstration Park, and the Changsha Rail Transit Institute, to directly experience the strength of Hunan's competitive industries such as construction machinery and electronic information.

Since the beginning of this year, economic, trade, and sci-tech delegations have accounted for over 80% of Hunan's official outbound visits, reflecting a strong demand for foreign exchange and cooperation among enterprises and higher education institutions. The Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee will take this event as an opportunity to fully leverage foreign affairs resources, to regularly engage with foreign embassies and consulates in China, to promote the deep integration of visa services and economic and trade development, and to precisely implement facilitation policies to fully support Hunan's high-level opening up.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan