Chinese consulate offers visa services

Mindanawon businessmen and tourists wanting to explore China can now process their visas at the Consulate General of China in Davao.

Consul General Li Lin said the consulate general will receive visa documents, processs it, and issue it here.

"This is to facilitate friendly cooperations and exchanges between China and the Philippines with a focus in the southern part of the country," Lin said, adding that this is a good step in promoting people to people exchange.

With the launching of their services, all three consulate generals of China in the Philippines, now offer visa processing services. China has consulate generals in Laoag and Cebu City. Lin said it will take four working days to process the visa.

Aside from the visa services, the consulate general here also offers passport services for Chinese nationals.

"We are ready to provide services to Filipinos, Filipino-Chinese, and Chinese citizens in Mindanao," Lin said.

For her part, Davao City Tourism Operations Office head Generose Tecson said in an online chat with SunStar Davao that this will mean that Dabawenyos will not have to go to Cebu or Manila to process their visas for China. Secondly, those from outside the city will also benefit from this development. "Most of all, this means that the Chinese government recognizes that Mindanao, especially Davao is now a destination for more business investments and tourism," she said. /