Mao Ning, spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry, said China has rolled out six new measures to facilitate cross-border travel at a regular press conference of the ministry on March 4.

Those measures include simplifying visa application forms, lowering visa fees, streamlining approval procedures for foreign students, exempting certain applicants from fingerprinting, providing walk-in visa application services, and extending a unilateral visa-free policy to France, Germany, and other countries on a trial basis.

According to Mao, to address the difficulties foreigners face in mobile payments, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, has instructed payment institutions to improve the efficiency of linking mobile payment accounts with foreign bank cards, streamline identity authentication procedures, and raise the limit on the maximum amount of the single mobile payment. Also, China's leading telecom operators opened new shops in the airports of major cities to help foreigners get a mobile number upon arrival.

In Shanghai, POS machines that can handle foreign bank cards have been installed in places such as hotels and scenic spots.

"We hope more foreign friends can come to China and will continue working to provide a safe, enjoyable, and convenient traveling environment for them", Mao said.