Benin's President Patrice Talon announced the abolition of entry visas for Chinese nationals wishing to invest in or visit the West African country, the presidency said in a statement.
Talon said that with the "mutually beneficial" move, the government welcomes investment from Beijing and hopes to generate revenue from Chinese travelers, who constitute the vast part of tourist flow to Benin.
"Benin is opening up fully to China, to create a more solid bridge of cooperation that will benefit both countries, as well as to capture a share of the tourist windfall from China, whose nationals account for a large proportion of the tourist contingents," the statement said.
The president added that any Chinese company that chooses to invest in Benin will get a joint Chinese-Benin state investment. The initiative, Talon said, will facilitate "massive" job creation and go a long way to alleviate poverty.
The head of state also voiced confidence that the technological partnership with China will turn Benin into a "world-class logistics center" and emphasized that the nation's ambition is to become an industrial center for processing agricultural products.
Talon noted that trade volume between Benin and China reached about $2 billion in 2022, increasing by more than 30 percent year-on-year. The president expressed hope that the figure could be doubled.
"I am convinced that through a paradigm shift, we will be able to double that figure in the next three years and better balance it," Talon remarked.
This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with President Talon in Beijing, resulting in the leaders signing a package of bilateral cooperation documents on deepening cooperation on the Belt and Road, green development, digital economy, agricultural food and healthcare.
On Friday, the presidents announced the establishment of the China-Benin strategic partnership.