This is likely to lead to a sharp jump in the number of mainland tourists to America, with tourism visas to the US now difficult to obtain for Chinese.

After fingerprinting, Ambassador Baucus spent nearly an hour talking with a succession of visa applicants traveling to the United States for work, study, or tourism.

Spokeswoman for the us embassy in China Susan Stevenson said over the phone that the tourism agreement would not change visa procedures for Chinese tourists to the us.