On November 15, 2023, Pan Qingjiang, the newly appointed Consul General of China in Johannesburg, visited the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Johannesburg (hereinafter referred to as the Visa Center) to provide advice on removal of visa appointment requirement from November 20. Deputy Consul General Zhou Yujiang and other staff accompanied him.

After being briefed about the current work of Visa Center, Consul General Pan conveyed the greetings from Ambassador Chen Xiaodong, affirmed the work of the Visa Center, and emphasized the importance of the removal of visa appointment requirement. He advised the Visa Center to take relevantmeasures such as improving efficiency and increasing manpower in order to better cope with the new situation. He also suggested that the Visa Center improves its service awareness and quality, responds to the most recent visa facilitation policies in a timely manner, and optimizes application processes continuously, so that people traveling to China can truly experience the benefits of visa facilitation. He hoped that the Visa Center play a more active role in enhancing people-to-people exchanges between China and South Africa, and contributes to the development of bilateral relations.

The manager of the Visa Center said that under the guidance of the Embassy and Consulates, the center will continue to implement the visa facilitation policies,constantlyprovide high-quality and convenient services, and better serve people-to-people exchanges between China and South Africa.