MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. Demand in Russia for visits to China is enormous with a visa-free regime opening up a new era of interaction, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS in an interview.

"A new stage in bilateral contacts with China is opening up, it is related to the Chinese side’s initiative to introduce a 30-day visa-free regime for a certain category of Russian citizens. This, above all, is for tourists or those visiting their acquaintances, friends, and so on," she said.

"This provides the opportunity to really visit China as a tourist. I can confirm that demand for visiting China has been enormous over recent years," the diplomat noted.