ISTANBUL 

China on Tuesday confirmed that a visa-free policy for 30 days would be available for Russian tourists visiting the country from Sept. 15.

The policy will be under a trial process from Sept. 15, 2025 until Sept. 14, 2026, during which "ordinary passport holders from Russia can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for no more than 30 days for business, tourism, family, friends, visit, exchange and transit purposes," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in a regular news conference in Beijing.

Russia and China conduct "friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation "in various fields, such as energy, "under the principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit," Guo noted.

About US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks Monday calling the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China on Aug. 31-Sept. 1 "largely performative," while accusing India of "financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine," due to buying Russian oil, Guo said that "on the Ukraine crisis, China has always upheld an objective and adjusted position."

He added: "We have always been fair and square, and that is for all to see."

Guo also said the Tianjin summit "is one with the largest scale in the history of the SCO," and "the most productive summit in the history of the SCO."