BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- A mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Tonga took effect Friday and is expected to attract more Chinese tourists to the South Pacific island kingdom, said China's tourism authority.

Starting Friday, Chinese and Tongan holders of ordinary passports can enter or transit through each other's countries without a visa, with a maximum stay of 30 days, said the China National Tourism Administration.

The agreement was signed on June 9 by Chinese Ambassador to Tonga Huang Huaguang and Tongan Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Akilisi Pohiva in the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa.

"The agreement aims to promote people-to-people exchanges between our two countries, especially in the tourism and business sectors," Huang said.

To visit Tonga, a Polynesian kingdom and archipelago consisting of 176 islands in the south Pacific ocean, Chinese tourists can take daily flights from the Chinese mainland via Sydney or Auckland, or three flights weekly from Hong Kong via Fiji, according to the Tonga tourism authority.

In 2012, China and Tonga signed a similar visa waiver agreement, but it only applied to holders of diplomatic passports, service/official passports and passports for public affairs. Enditem