For the two months covering December 2014 and January 2015, the United States government issued a total of 351,650 business and tourist visas to Chinese citizens as part of the expanded long-term visa agreement between China and the US.

The number of Chinese citizens receiving the extended US B1 business and B2 tourist visas in December and January increased 68.2 percent from the same period last year.

Like Us on Facebook

For the period December 2013 and January 2014, only 209,100 visas were issued by the US to Chinese citizens, the US State Department said.

The surge took place just months after US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a deal that extends tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year and student visas to five years from one year.

The deal was signed by the presidents of the world's largest and second largest economies in November during Obama's visit to Beijing.

The long-term visa agreement came as a breather for the two countries that have been clashing on various issues, including the territorial disputes involving China and its neighboring countries.

The US also accused China of cyber attacks, to which China has denied.

The first long-term visa was issued on 12 November 2014.

Data from the White House showed that about 30 percent of all foreign students and exchange visitors in the United States originate from China.

In a November statement, the White House said "China is the fastest-growing outbound tourism market in the world".

Tourism experts said the signing of the long-term visa deal will further increase Chinese tourists' interest in visiting the United States.

And it is not just the US that eyes China's burgeoning outbound travel market, which has reached at least 100 million travelers last year.

In fact, the United Kingdom and other European and Asian countries have also started rolling out visa-free deals and relaxed travel documentary requirements with China in order to entice more Chinese travelers.

TagsUS Visa, Chinese Tourists, Long Term US Visa