Chongqing - With China’s expanded visa-free policies and the recent National Day holiday drawing more foreign visitors, some are finding that English doesn’t always get them very far.

In Chongqing, a major city in southwest China, Ranjan from Canada and Max from France, interviewed during the National Day holiday, said they struggled to communicate in English.

The experience sparked an online discussion about a question that has been debated in China recently: Should Chinese people keep improving their English, or should foreigners make more of an effort to learn Chinese?

Some Chinese commenters argued that cities that receive more international visitors should provide more English-language information, and that locals, especially those in service roles like taxi drivers, should learn basic English with the government's encouragement.

Others disagreed, arguing that foreign visitors should make an effort to learn Chinese rather than expect locals to speak English. Some took a middle position, suggesting that both sides learn basic phrases to make communication easier.

International travelers at the departure level of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport on October 1, 2026. (Photo/Zheng Ran)

The debate comes as China sees a sharp increase in international travel.

China recorded more than 150 million inbound tourist visits in 2025, with foreign tourists spending more than $130 billion, according to figures released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The National Immigration Administration said Chinese immigration authorities handled 697 million border crossings in 2025, a record high. Foreign nationals accounted for 82.04 million crossings, up 26.4% from the previous year, while visa-free entries reached 30.08 million, or 73.1% of foreign entries.

The trend continued in the first half of 2026. Foreign nationals made 45.91 million entries and exits, up 20.6% year on year. Foreign nationals entering China reached 22.91 million, an increase of 20.4%, with visa-free entries accounting for 77.7% of the total.

More visitors, a changing role for English in Chongqing

China has expanded unilateral visa-free and transit visa exemption policies in recent years. The National Immigration Administration said these expansions have made visa-free entry a new feature of inbound travel.

The change is particularly visible in Chongqing. In the first half of 2026, more than 210,000 foreign travelers entered the city using visa-free or 240-hour transit visa exemption policies, up 83.6% year on year. At Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, inbound and outbound foreign travelers increased 86% to more than 610,000.

For Chinese residents, more international visitors mean encounters with foreigners increasingly take place in ordinary settings, on public transport, in restaurants, shopping districts and tourist attractions, rather than mainly in international business or academic environments.

The changing role of foreign languages is visible in Chongqing, where international interaction has grown alongside the city's economic and tourism links.

In the first half of 2026, Chongqing received 1.448 million inbound tourists, up 56.8% year on year. Tourism and visits to family and friends accounted for 88% of foreign visitors' main purposes for travel to the city.

Chongqing is also adjusting its foreign-language education to local economic needs. A 2026 foreign-language education reform program identified "foreign-language education + artificial intelligence" as a priority and called for closer links between language education and the city's manufacturing and technology sectors.

Sichuan International Studies University, based in Chongqing, has promoted a "foreign language plus" model that combines language skills with areas such as international trade, logistics and finance. The university is also expanding training in languages relevant to Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, South Asia and other regions connected with Chongqing's international economic links.

The city is simultaneously expanding multilingual services for foreign residents and visitors. A three-year action plan issued in September calls for multilingual functions on the municipal government website and a service guide for overseas visitors.

For a city receiving more international visitors, the practical question is becoming more immediate: how should residents, schools, and public services communicate in a city increasingly connected to the outside world?

The answer is not settled. But the discussion itself reflects a shift in Chinese society, from a period when English was closely associated with opening up and global opportunities to a new era in which international interaction is growing while technology is changing the language skills needed.