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Searches for flights to Seoul surge on travel platform as South Korea is reportedly offering visa-free entry to Chinese group tourists;

China will make care and education for kids in the third year at public kindergartens free starting this fall.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 

South Korea will implement a temporary visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists starting from September 29, and the policy will remain in effect until June next year, CCTV reported today, citing South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The decision came after China in November 2024 extended its visa-free transit policy to allow ordinary passport holders from 38 countries including South Korea, to visit China for a maximum of 30 days without applying for a visa. 

According to an earlier report by Xinhua News Agency, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea said in March that it planned to implement a phased visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists in the third quarter of this year.

Following South Korea’s reported policy, a travel index on Chinese travel platform Qunar.com showed a 68 percent surge in flight search volume for Seoul, capital of South Korea, compared to the previous hour, ranking it second among popular international flight destinations, the platform said on Wednesday.

Based on international flight and hotel booking volumes for this summer, South Korea has consistently been among the top three most popular destinations for Chinese travelers. With the support of the group visa-free policy, South Korea's popularity is expected to rise steadily in the second half of the year, the platform said.

The South Korean government said that with the rapid recovery of South Korea's tourism market, this move is expected to boost potential demand for tourism to South Korea, help revitalize the local economy and stimulate domestic demand, Yonhap reported. 

In recent years, the South Korean government has designated tourism as a strategic industry. The northeastern Asian country has been attracting foreign tourists by simplifying entry procedures for popular tourist areas and extending the length of stay of foreign tourists in South Korea to 15 days, aiming to attracting 30 million foreign tourists and generating USD30 billion in tourism revenue, according to a CCTV report.

GBA express

Cathay Pacific said today it bought 14 Boeing 777-9 aircraft with the option to purchase up to 7 more, in its first deal with the US planemaker in 12 years. The basic price of these jets is around USD8.1 billion, and they are expected to be delivered by 2034.

Mainland hotel chain Atour is reportedly seeking second listing in the Hong Kong SAR, according to people familiar with the matter. The Shanghai-based chain is working with advisers on a share sale to potentially raise several hundred million dollars, the people said, media reported.

Industry and company news

China will waive tuition fees for all children in their final year of preschool at public kindergartens, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the State Council. Private kindergartens can charge fees if their tuition costs more than the waived amount.

China’s sales of passenger vehicles are expected to climb 6 percent this year from the year before to 24.3 million units, and exports should jump 14 percent to 5.4 million autos, the Chinese Passenger Car Association said today. Passenger car sales surged 10.8 percent in the first half year on year.

China's domestic air travel reported a 3 percent rise in passengers to about 60 million in July, as average economy fares fell 7.3 percent from a year earlier, media reported. Among the most popular destinations were tourism hotspots. Passengers on international routes rose 10 percent to 7.7 million.

Meituan announced yesterday it has rolled out a new program to help small and medium merchants grow by offering a one-time subsidy of up to CNY50,000 to more than 100,000 small- and medium-sized restaurants that have been open for a long time and have many recurring customers and a good reputation this year.

WeRide said yesterday that it had been approved for robotaxi road tests at the High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zones in Beijing from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., marking a step closer to realizing a 7/24 all-weather driverless service network in the city.  

Vanke secured another loan from its largest shareholder Shenzhen Metro worth nearly CNY1.7 billion to deal with its mounting debt repayments, the Chinese property developer announced yesterday. Shenzhen Metro has lent a total of CNY24.4 billion to Vanke in eight times this year.

A record number of Chinese companies are seeking initial public offerings on US stock exchanges this year despite trade tensions and more scrutiny over Chinese firms, media reported. In the first half, 36 Chinese companies went public, with another 40 waiting in line, which is expected to break the record 64 set in 2024. So far this year, tearoom chain Chagee Holdings has been the biggest IPO in New York, raising USD411 million.

Asia-Pacific highlights

Asia-US sea freight rates have slumped up to 58 percent since June 1 and are expected to drop further this year as shipping capacity outpaces demand and trade routes shift due to US tariff policies, media reported. Sea freight had a brief increase in late May and early June as shippers took advantage of a 90-day pause in US implementation of tariffs.

Indonesia's economic growth accelerated to 5.1 percent in the second quarter from 4.9 percent in the previous three months, the fastest pace in two years. Ahead of Tuesday's data, Bank Indonesia, which has cut policy rates