India to restart issuing tourist visas for Chinese citizens after 5-year hiatus

India has decided to restart issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from Thursday, July 24, said the Indian embassy in Beijing on Wednesday, after a long period of five years. India had suspended the issuance of tourist visas for Chinese nationals in 2020 amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and after a deadly clash between troops of the two countries at Galwan along the disputed border.
Bilateral relations between the two countries had plunged to their lowest point since the 1962 war after the Galwan Valley clashes. However, following a series of diplomatic and military talks, the two sides withdrew their troops from several friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

In October 2024, the two sides firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh, and days later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Kazan and took a number of decisions to improve the ties.

The Indian embassy in China said in a statement that Chinese citizens can apply for a tourist visa to India after completing an online application, scheduling an appointment and submitting their passport and other required documents to the Indian Visa Appelication Centrs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, in South China’s Guangdong Province.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a briefing on Wednesday that Beijing had noted India’s positive move to resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals, adding that facilitating cross-border travel is in the common interest.

Guo added that China is willing to continue communication and consultation with India to improve the convenience in bilateral people-to-people exchanges.

Tensions escalated between the two countries after a military clash along their disputed border in 2020. India suspended all tourist visas and e-visas for Chinese nationals and imposed restrictions on Chinese investments, banned hundreds of popular Chinese apps and cut passenger routes.

In May, Indian media reports said that the government was considering tighter visa curbs on Chinese citizens because of concerns that Beijing would start dumping goods in the country to get around US tariffs.

However, the two countries have been steadily working to improve relations in recent months. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin next month, which would be his first visit to the country since 2018.

The two sides have also agreed to restore direct flights while China has allowed Indian pilgrims to return to the Tibet autonomous region for the first time in the past five years.

Last month, the first group of Indian pilgrims crossed the Himalayas into Tibet to visit Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, two sites that are sacred to many Hindus, Buddhists and other religions.