After thaw in relations, India reopens global tourist visas for Chinese nationals
Nearly four months after India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals in July, the government has now widened access to these visas globally. The original suspension, imposed after the LAC standoff of April–May 2020, followed the deadly Galwan Valley clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops, plunging bilateral ties to their lowest point in decades.
New Delhi: India has now begun issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals through its diplomatic missions worldwide, marking another step in the gradual reset of bilateral ties strained by the prolonged stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
This expansion of visa access comes nearly four months after India first restarted tourist visa services for Chinese citizens in July. These services had been suspended in the aftermath of the LAC confrontation in April–May 2020, which included the violent Galwan Valley clash that left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops dead and sent relations to their lowest point in decades.
People-centric steps resume
According to people aware of the development, Indian embassies and consulates across several countries quietly reopened tourist visa applications for Chinese nationals earlier this week. There has been no formal government statement on the move so far.
Officials said that both countries have, in recent months, worked on a series of "people-focused measures” to stabilise the relationship. Direct passenger flights, halted since early 2020, were restored in October, and both sides agreed to resume the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra to pilgrimage sites in Tibet next summer.
They added that India has eased visa processes for multiple categories of Chinese travellers, and both sides have organised events to mark 75 years of diplomatic engagement. Such steps, they said, are intended to revive people-to-people contact "as envisioned by the leadership of the two nations.”
India’s earlier decision in July allowed Chinese nationals to apply for tourist visas at the embassy in Beijing and the consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
High-level talks revive
The broader thaw in relations follows an agreement reached in October 2024 to disengage frontline troops along the LAC. Subsequently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met in Kazan, Russia, where they committed to reactivating several communication mechanisms to normalise ties and address long-standing boundary issues.
Since then, top Indian and Chinese officials — including foreign and defence ministers, national security advisers, and Special Representatives for the border dispute (NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi) — have held multiple rounds of talks. These engagements have paved the way for cooperation in areas such as border trade and economic matters.
China has also moved to ease some of India’s trade-related concerns, notably by modifying export curbs on rare earth minerals.