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24-07-2025
BEIJING/ NEW DELHI/ HONG KONG: India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24 this year, its embassy in China said on Wednesday, the first time in five years as both countries move to repair their rocky relationship.
Tensions between the two countries escalated following a 2020 military clash along their disputed Himalayan border. In response, India imposed restrictions on Chinese investments, banned hundreds of popular Chinese apps and cut passenger routes.
China suspended visas to Indian citizens and other foreigners around the same time due to the COVID-19 pandemic but lifted those restrictions in 2022, when it resumed issuing visas for students and business travelers.
Tourist visas for Indian nationals remained restricted until March this year, when both countries agreed to resume direct air service.
Relations have gradually improved, with several high-level meetings taking place last year, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia in October.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday that Beijing had noted the positive move.
“China is ready to maintain communication and consultation with India and constantly improve the level of personal exchanges between the two countries,” he said.
Earlier, India and China share a 3,800 km (2,400-mile) border that has been disputed since the 1950s. The two countries fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962 and negotiations to settle the dispute have made slow progress.
In July, India’s foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart that both countries must resolve border friction, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalize their relationship.
India and China must resolve friction along their border, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalize their relationship, India’s foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday.
India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Wang Yi in Beijing during his first trip there since 2020 when a deadly border clash between their troops led to a four-year military standoff and damaged ties until a thaw began in October.
“Good progress” in the past nine months for normalization of relations is a result of the resolution of friction along their border, Jaishankar told Wang.
The positive momentum in bilateral relations is “hard-won and should be cherished”, Wang said, adding that the two countries should enhance political trust, properly handle differences and expand exchanges and cooperation.
“The two sides should trust each other rather than suspect each other, cooperate with each other rather than compete with each other,” Wang said, according to a readout from his ministry.
India and China share a 3,800 km (2,400 miles) border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s. They fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962 and talks over the decades to settle the dispute have made slow progress.
Last month, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart that the two countries should seek a permanent solution to the border dispute.
“It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation,” Jaishankar said, adding that it was also critical that restrictive trade measures and roadblocks be avoided to foster mutually beneficial cooperation.
The minister was speaking against the backdrop of Beijing’s restrictions in recent months on supplies of critical minerals such as rare earth magnets and machinery for manufacturing of high-tech goods. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
