BEIJING (Reuters) - China has eased visa restrictions for Shenzhen residents visiting Hong Kong, allowing multiple entries into Hong Kong per year beginning from Dec. 1, Xinhua reported on Friday. Each stay is for up to seven days, the official news agency said, with the multiple-entry visas valid for one year at a time.

The previous restrictions were implemented in response to concerns from Hong Kong residents about parallel trading, where an influx of shoppers from the mainland bought everyday goods in Hong Kong to

China has eased visa rules for Shenzhen residents traveling to Hong Kong, allowing unlimited visits within a year instead of the previous one-trip-per-week limit.

Shenzhen residents will soon be able to make more frequent trips to Hong Kong under the resumption of a multiple-entry visa scheme, which was suspended in 2015 owing to concerns about overcrowding in the city and unlicensed cross-border trade.

John Lee says he is grateful to Beijing for ‘accelerated progress’ with city’s request to revive and expand a cross-border visa scheme.