BEIJING - China will grant overseas Chinese citizens more convenience in handling affairs in China with their passports, according to the National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Friday.

From Dec 31, Chinese citizens residing abroad will be able to make a query on the service platform of the NIA to acquire an electronic document, which can prove the validity of their passports as their proof of identity in handling affairs in China.

As the e-documents acquired via the platform are already validated with the signatures of the NIA, overseas citizens can directly show the documents to institutions where they handle affairs, the NIA said.

Many overseas citizens had encountered inconvenience when handling affairs in China as they did not have registered permanent residence in or identity cards of the Chinese mainland, which is why the administration decided to launch the service, said a statement of the NIA.

The service is the NIA's latest measure to improve the convenience of the application process for exit and entry documents, the administration said.

According to China's Exit and Entry Administration Law, when handling financial affairs or affairs involving education, medical treatment, transportation, telecommunications, social insurance or property registration, where identity certificates are required, Chinese citizens residing abroad may provide their passports as proof of identity.