Callback
Contact
+1 786 233 6668
Prof. Dr. Yossi Harpaz is Associate Professor of Sociology at Tel Aviv University.
In today’s polarized global landscape, cross-border mobility is both a practical asset and a symbol of international standing. Visa policies offer a revealing reflection of economic and geopolitical realities: as competition between the Washington and Beijing accelerates, China emerges from its historically isolated position and extends greater outreach to the world, including to Western allies of the USA, while many advanced economies remain comparatively static.
Global visa policies can be understood through two distinct measures: travel freedom and openness. As the Henley Passport Index illustrates, the passports of economically developed, stable, and democratic countries tend to provide extensive visa-free travel, while citizens of unstable, poorly developed, and autocratic countries generally have more limited visa-free access. A country’s openness, on the other hand, refers to the number of nationalities it admits visa-free.
As demonstrated in a contribution to a previous Henley Global Mobility Report, high travel freedom and high openness do not usually go hand in hand. Countries with the strongest passports, rank highly on the Henley Passport Index, are also sought-after immigration destinations. This often encourages them to adopt relatively closed visa regimes, in order to mitigate the risk of large-scale or unwanted immigration. The openness of European Union (EU) member states is slightly below the global average (admitting 95 countries visa-fee), while that of the USA, Canada, Australia, and other non-EU Western countries is even lower.
Countries with low and intermediate levels of travel freedom are in a different position. These are typically developing states, often governed by authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regimes. Since they tend to be less attractive destinations for tourism and large-scale immigrations, such countries can experiment with more open visa policies without the risk of being overwhelmed by inbound immigration. Visa liberalization is often reciprocal, with both countries removing requirements simultaneously, and is primarily aimed at facilitating tourism, trade and improved diplomatic relations.
China is an emergent economic giant. Over the past decade, the ranks of Chinese millionaires continued to swell — by 2024 China had 74% more millionaires than in 2014. However, until relatively recently, the country remained relatively closed. As late as 2018, China granted visa-free access to nationals of only 15 countries. Correspondingly, Chinese citizens also enjoyed very low travel freedom, with the country ranked 74th on the Henley Passport Index, representing access to only 64 visa-free destinations.
Recent years have seen a dramatic shift in China’s visa policy and a boost in Chinese citizens’ travel freedom. Since 2018, the country has progressively expanded visa-free access to a growing number of countries, with particularly significant developments over the past two years. In 2023–2024, China extended visa-free entry to nationals of most EU member states, and in 2025 it further expanded eligibility to include major South American and Gulf countries. This deliberate move towards greater openness took place alongside rising outbound mobility. The Chinese passport now provides visa-free access to 81 destinations — including key neighboring countries such as Kazakhstan and Thailand — and as climbed to 59th place on the Henley Passport Index, representing a substantial improvement on its 2018 standing.
China’s openness and corresponding mobility gains signal a push for soft power and renewed global engagement. Yet despite these gains, the Chinese passport remains excluded from visa-free access to wealthy blocs and countries such as Canada, EU member states, the UK, and the USA. When comparing Economic Mobility scores in The Henley Passport Power Index, China’s passport provides visa-free access to just 28% of global GDP — roughly on a par with the passports of Armenia or Uzbekistan, and still far behind those of Western economies. While China’s growing openness helps project an image of cooperation and stability, genuine parity in global mobility remains a distant prospect.
For all the challenges it faces, the USA remains the most dynamic economic engine of the West. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of American millionaires grew by 78% — a rate slightly higher than China’s and significantly stronger than that of other Western nations. Despite this economic dynamism, there have been only minimal changes in the USA’s visa openness or in the global access its citizens enjoy.
The USA has extended visa-free access to only a limited number of additional countries in recent years, and American passport holders have gained relatively few new visa-free destinations. As of 2026, US citizens enjoy visa-free entry to 179 countries, representing 72% of global GDP. Notably, this represents a slide backwards in relative terms. The US passport is now ranked 10th in the world for travel freedom — down from 1st place in 2014.
Other Western countries — particularly in Europe — have not matched the USA in terms of private wealth growth over the past decade. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of millionaires grew by between 20% and 30% in Italy, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada, and by less than 10% in Germany, France, Japan and the UK.
On the other hand, these countries have outperformed the USA in improving their citizens’ travel freedom. However, this was not driven by changes in their degree of openness to other nations. Instead, the expansion in visa-free access has largely resulted from growing openness towards them by other countries. The most important policy change has been China’s recent decision to allow visa-free access to European nationals without demanding reciprocal access for Chinese citizens.
This has dramatically boosted the share of global GDP to which EU passport holders have visa-free access. In terms of economic mobility score, French and German passports now offer visa-free access to a whopping 93% of global GDP — far surpassing the USA (72%) and China (28%). Following China’s opening its doors, these passports are now, or at least appear to be, significantly more powerful than the American passport when it comes to global GDP access.
Is this merely a symbolic win or will it lead to an actual boost in economic activity between China and the EU? Only time will tell. It does seem, however, that China’s courting of Europe is not devoid of broader geopolitical intentions.
Geopolitical polarization is gradually sliding from “cold” conflict to “hot” war. In 2022, Russia, a close partner of China, invaded Ukraine, a Western-backed country. The following year, Iran — also aligned with China — launched attacks against another Western ally, Israel, first indirectly through groups it supports (including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis) and then, since April 2024, directly. Security experts also warn that a Chinese move to take control of Taiwan could come sooner than many expect.
Against this backdrop, China’s recent charm offensive vis-à-vis Europe may be seen by some as an attempt to drive a wedge between Western allies. This perception is reinforced by the fact that the USA and China are promoting competing visions for future trade corridors between Europe and Asia. China continues to advance its Belt and Road Initiative that will reach Europe via Russia and Iran, while the USA champions the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor (IMEC) that will connect Europe and India by passing through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.
As competition between the USA and China accelerates, China is emerging from its historically insular position and pursuing greater engagement with the wider world, including key US allies. In the short term, this signals relative stagnation for the American passport and a boost in travel freedom for Europeans and Australians. The longer term consequences will depend on the directions in which global competition and conflict develop — hopefully towards greater cooperation and shared prosperity rather than escalation and destruction.
Henley & Partners assists international clients in obtaining residence and citizenship under the respective programs. Contact us to arrange an initial private consultation.
