KIEV, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The number of Chinese visitors to Ukraine has risen to a 10-year high in 2016 amid a liberalization of the visa regime and surging cooperation between the two countries, official data showed on Tuesday.

A record of 20,555 Chinese citizens, including 19,599 from China's mainland, visited Ukraine last year compared with 13,602 visitors a year ago, Ukraine's State Statistics Service said in a report.

In June 2016, Ukraine started issuing 15-day entry visas for Chinese businessmen and tourists upon their arrival at the Kiev Boryspil Airport if they have a document confirming the business or tourist purpose of the visit.

Four months later, the visa-on-arrival policy was extended to the airport of Ukraine's southern Black Sea resort of Odessa.

Cooperation between Ukraine and China saw a significant upsurge last year due to the normalization of the situation in the East European country, with increasing business, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.