Dalian loosens restrictions for APEC Business Travel Card

Dalian, in Northeast China's Liaoning province, loosens restrictions for application for the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Business Travel Card, according to recent news.

The city launched applications for the cards in 2008, and currently has more than 1,400 valid card holders.

With the Belt and Road Initiative and increasing international cooperation, economic and trade exchanges between the city's enterprises and APEC economies have become more frequent. 

Dalian loosened restrictions on applications for the card in September this year. Restrictions in four aspects regarding applicants and their companies were loosened.

First, the import and export volume of the company in the previous year should be not less than 500,000 yuan ($72,230), with the original number 600,000 yuan.

Second, a company should pay taxes regularly in the previous year with no specific amount, instead of the tax amount being not less than 200,000 yuan.

Third, the debt-to-assets ratio of a company should not exceed 80 percent, instead of the former 65 percent.

Fourth, technical staff members can apply for a card, instead of only medium and high-level business personnel in that company. 

Unchanged standards include a company's registered capital being not less than 500,000 yuan, and applicants working continuously for over two years in a company with a remaining contract term of more than five years.

A brief introduction to APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC)

Launched in 1997, ABTC facilitates short-term business travel within the APEC region by streamlining the entry process into APEC economies. Successful applicants from fully participating economies are issued with a five-year card that serves as the entry authority to other fully participating economies which have granted pre-clearance for short-term business travel of up to 60 days. 

The card also enables holders to fast track immigration processing at each economy's major international airports. Note that Canada and the United States are transitional members of the ABTC scheme and do not offer reciprocal entry arrangements, but do provide fast-track immigration processing at major international airports.

There are now 16 economies valid for cardholders in the Chinese mainland: Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, and Russia.