Islamabad, June 21 (INP): The Chinese Embassy announced here on Thursday that it would be providing maximum comfort to the Pakistani applicants, who intend to visit China.   Since April 1 this year, the Embassy has implemented new policy for F and M visas. According to the new rules, those applicants who have visited China more than 3 times since January 1, 2016, who work for the companies registered in local Chambers, or who hold passports with marks of Government Officer or Government Employee are exempted from submitting barcode invitation letters. These invitation letters are usually issued by Chinese local governments or big enterprises and difficult to obtain. According to statistics, the visa issuance volume from April 1 to June 15 rose 11% over the same period of the previous year, among which the business visa volume reaches around 15,000, a growth of 19%. Many visa applicants find that there are two female Pakistani employees receiving them in the Consular Section of the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, which makes some applicants, especially those Urdu speakers feel pleasantly surprised. Yang Lianchun, Director of the Consular Section, said that more Pakistani staff have been hired in his section and taken responsibilities of facilitating the applicants, such as frequently helping to bridge the gap in language barriers for Urdu-speaking applicants. “All of our consular officers speak English only. When we have interviews with Urdu-speaking applicants who visit China for the first time, we will sometimes reject them as we can’t make sure of their visit purposes due to language barriers. However, Pakistani employees can not only help lessen the applicants’ emotional anxiety but solve the problem easily.” He said. Hiring more Pakistani staff in the Consular Section is actually under the instructions of Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing. Since his arrival the Ambassador has specially taken steps to facilitate Chinese visa application. His constant meetings with the chambers of commerce and industries won huge support from the local business community.  He always said that promoting mutual understanding, exchanges and cooperation between the two peoples is the key point for developing the all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Pakistan. He stressed that all consular officers of the Embassy must enhance their awareness of service to make visa applicants feel our warmth and friendliness, and make it easier for Pakistani friends to get Chinese visas. The Ambassador reiterated that the Embassy processed visas for Pakistanis on the basis of international conventions and the principle of reciprocity. “As a major pilot project under One Belt and Road Initiative, the CPEC is the most important and best performing project. We’ll further ease our visa policy to contribute more to the development of the CPEC.” He believed that China’s easing visa policy would facilitate bilateral trade and help address the problem of trade imbalance. After the Eid-ul-Fitr, more Pakistani businessmen will visit China for trade and business opportunities. The Chinese Embassy is fully ready for the coming seasonal visa peak. “We’re planning to arrange more Pakistani employees to receive visa applicants. Multiple visas with a longer period of validity are available to those businessmen who have good entry & exit records. We can also provide urgent visa service when required.” Director Yang Lianchun said.The trade chambers highly appreciated the recent steps taken by the Ambassador.  This new policy has greatly benefited the local businessmen. “It gives my company a good chance for international exposure. Some clients are very interested in my products placed many orders with me. I believe many businessmen like me have exploited their markets in China.” A corporate member of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce Farhan Mughal was quoted as saying. He participated in the Canton Fair not long ago. Faisal Saeed, a businessman from Faisalabad who has just come back to Pakistan from China (Qinghai) International Carpet Exhibition, said that the new policy made it easier for Pakistani businessmen to obtain Chinese visas and would yield more economic benefits. “To my delight, I was granted a multiple-entry visa with a validity period of one year. It is because I have been to China many times and built up a very good visa record.” He added. Inp/javed