China and Canada seal deal for 10-year visas

China and Canada will grant each other's citizens visas valid for up to 10 years, Beijing's foreign minister announced yesterday.

The agreement, which goes into force today, comes as Western countries increasingly seek Chinese business and investment, and mirrors one with the US announced last year.

"China and Canada have just reached an agreement issuing visas to each other's citizens with the validity period of up to 10 years," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on the sidelines of the National People's Congress, the country's Communist-controlled parliament, in Beijing.

No other details were immediately available.

Ottawa last year cancelled a permanent residency visa scheme for foreign investors popular with wealthy Chinese, thousands of whom reportedly had applications pending.

Every year mainland Chinese travellers make more than 100 million "outbound" trips, tourism authorities say.