Chinese visitors can receive visas on arrival in 36 countries and regions in the world, and 11 others provide visa-free service to Chinese visitors, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Lu Kang, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a news conference on Wednesday that the number of Chinese visitors going abroad has increased rapidly in recent years. More than 100 million personal outbound trips were made by Chinese mainland citizens last year.

More countries and regions in the world provide Chinese visitors more convenient and relaxed visa policies under the Foreign Ministry's effort.

Lu said that China at present has reached agreements on mutual visa-free services covering different types of passports with 99 countries and signed 59 pacts with 37 countries to streamline visa applications for Chinese visitors.

The UK and Belgian governments announced on June 19 a new pilot program to further streamline visa application processes for Chinese visitors to the UK, Belgium and the wider Schengen area.

The US last year changed its visa policies to extend tourist and business visas from one year to 10 years, and student visas from one year to five years for Chinese visitors. In the first five months of this year the number of Chinese visitors to the US for business and travel purposes increased by 31% year on year.