In an era marked by rising protectionism, xenophobia and protracted conflict, China’s introduction of a five-year, multiple-entry “ASEAN visa” stands as a bold reaffirmation of openness — a policy that echoes the cosmopolitan spirit of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when China’s economic and cultural prowess thrived on global exchange.

The “ASEAN visa” grants businesspeople from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, plus Timor-Leste, which is seeking membership into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, multiple entries to China over a period of five years. Each stay can last up to 180 days and includes their spouse and children. This visionary move not only facilitates commerce but also nurtures cross-cultural dialogue, proving that economic integration and mutual understanding remain the most enduring foundations for peace.  

The Tang Dynasty ushered in a golden age of Chinese civilization. Its capital, Chang’an (modern Xi’an), flourished as a cosmopolitan hub where foreign merchants, scholars, pilgrims, and diplomats mingled in open markets and imperial courts. During the recent ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum, I witnessed echoes of this brilliance while touring the ancient cities of Luoyang, Zhengzhou, and Anyang — places where the roots of openness still resonate through stone and scripture.  

In Zhengzhou, the bronze relics of the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) spoke of early trade networks. In Anyang, the oracle bones — the earliest known Chinese writings — revealed a civilization eager to document, question, and exchange ideas. In Luoyang, the Longmen Grottoes and the White Horse Temple stood as testaments to centuries of cultural interaction. Like Chang’an, these cities thrived most when their gates were wide open.  

The Silk Roads were more than trade routes; they were conduits of ideas. China engaged with Persia, India, and Arabia. Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, and Zoroastrianism coexisted. Arab traders brought glassware; Chinese silk and paper transformed distant societies.  

Today, China’s “ASEAN visa” revives this tradition. It signals that China’s rise need not be exclusionary but can instead be a rising tide that lifts all boats.  

The benefits offered by this visa arrangement are profound: For ASEAN businesses, seamless access to China’s 1.4 billion increasingly affluent consumers means faster deals, deeper partnerships, and greater investment opportunities; for ASEAN economies, the policy could boost exports in agriculture, electronics, and services while attracting Chinese capital into infrastructure and manufacturing; and for China, it strengthens ties with Southeast Asia amid Western decoupling pressures, reinforcing its role as the region’s indispensable economic partner. It will also bolster tourism, a rapidly growing industry in China.  

This visa policy could catalyze deeper supply chain integration, fostering mutual prosperity across the region.  

Beyond economics, this move is a quiet counterforce against global fragmentation. While some nations retreat behind walls — both literal and figurative — China is opening doors. The result: More people-to-people exchanges, which dissolve ignorance and prejudice.  

In Luoyang, Zhengzhou, and Anyang, where ASEAN journalists and diplomats walked the same streets once trodden by traders and scholars, the value of dialogue became tangible. Trade and travel have long tempered hostility. Under the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the Venetian merchant and explorer Marco Polo journeyed across China, later serving as an official in Hangzhou — an era when foreign exchange was not merely tolerated but celebrated.  

Today, ASEAN-China visa liberalization may once again soften geopolitical fault lines through shared interdependence.  

As the United States and Europe debate deglobalization and tighten borders, China’s message is clear: Globalization isn’t ending — it’s evolving. And increasingly, leadership is shifting to the Global South.  

This ASEAN visa is more than a travel perk; it is a declaration of principle. Just as the Tang Dynasty flourished by embracing the world, modern China is again choosing openness over insularity. At a time of global uncertainty, this progressive policy is a rare spark of hope — a choice for bridges over barriers, for dialogue over distrust.  

For ASEAN, the opportunity is historic. For the world, it is a reminder: The path to prosperity and peace begins with an open door. 

The author is an economics and politics analyst, an award-winning columnist of the Philippine Star and Abante newspapers, a book author, and a moderator of the Pandesal Forum. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.