"I've heard from American business leaders about how valuable this step will be. And we've worked hard to achieve this outcome because it clearly serves the mutual interest of both of our countries," Obama said Monday at a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

Obama is currently on a weeklong sprint across Asia and the Pacific that will take him from China to Myanmar and Australia, marking an opportunity for Obama to address major foreign affairs and economic challenges as the U.S. continues its pivot to Asia, which Obama promised early in his presidency.

The change is expected to be a boon for the U.S. economy, creating up to 440,000 American jobs by 2021 because increased tourism and business spurred by visits from more than 7 million Chinese that would generate nearly $85 billion in revenue, according to a White House estimate.

Obama also noted that China is the U.S.'s fastest-growing export market and touted the benefits of Chinese investments in the United States that have created job opportunities for Americans.

Less than two percent of the 100 million Chinese travelers last year came to the U.S. and the new policy is expected to incentivize travel.

"They have said that the difficulty of getting visas, which were just one-year visas, was the second biggest obstacle to coming to the United States," a senior administration official said.

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