The Conference on Regional Migration Governance Policies was held in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province on September 17. According to the statistics released during the conference, the number of the trips by individuals between the Chinese mainland and ASEAN member states surpassed 25.244 million from January to August 2025, marking an 11.2% year-on-year increase. A total of 14.505 million trips from the Chinese mainland to ASEAN member states, which indicates a rise of 3.7% compared with the same period in the previous year, while the major purposes of these trips include tourism and visits to family members and friends. A total of 10.739 million trips were made by the residents of ASEAN member states to the Chinese mainland, reflecting an increase of 27.5% year-on-year; among which 9.054 million were made visa-free, reflecting an increase of 28.4% from the previous year; the major reasons for these trips include tourism and business activities. These figures demonstrate the continued surge of the travel volume between China and ASEAN member states. Notably, the implementation of the visa exemption agreement between China and Malaysia, which came into effect on July 17 this year, has greatly contributed to the travel volume, with 180,000 trips made by Malaysian citizens to the Chinese mainland, marking a year-on-year increase of 13.2%. Among these, 150,000 were visa-free trips, representing a 15.1% year-on-year rise.

An official of the National Immigration Administration (NIA) stated that, in accordance with the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, NIA will make full efforts to strengthen the strategic communication with immigration management and border defense authorities in ASEAN member states, leverage complementary advantages, and enhance friendly exchanges. Additionally, NIA will deepen practical cooperation in immigration law enforcement, actively introduce policies to facilitate exchanges, and promote cross-border movements between Chinese nationals and residents of ASEAN member states. These efforts are expected to boost regional economic and trade collaboration while continuing to give impetus to regional economic and social development.