According to Chinese media reports, the United States is likely to make its visa policy less stringent to Chinese travelers.

The reports say that China National Tourism Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce will sign an agreement at the end of this year on loosening the U.S. tourism visa for Chinese citizens. At present, the parties are discussing the detailed conditions and rules on the visa issue. It is estimated that millions of Chinese will flow into the U.S. after the agreement is signed.

Local media speculates that the U.S. government has been facing great pressure from various parties asking it to loosen its visa policy as a result of European countries' attracting more and more Chinese tourists.

Data provided by the U.S. side shows that about 300,000 Chinese people go to travel in the U.S. each year and they will spend a total of as much as US$1.5 billion during their stay. However, as there is not a travel destination agreement between the two countries, it is hard for individual travelers from the Chinese mainland to obtain a visa for traveling in the United States. According to Bo Huailu, president of Bravo Travel, six out of ten Chinese travelers will be refused when applying for an America visa.