NEW DELHI: In a yet another sign of deepening thaw in ties between New Delhi and Beijing, the government reopened tourist visa services for Chinese nationals at its embassies and consulates worldwide.
Sources said that a notification regarding this has been issued this week and this move marks another step in the steady normalisation of ties after a four-year chill triggered by the 2020 Line of Actual Control (LAC) standoff between the two neighbours.
Tourist visas for Chinese citizens were suspended following the violent Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, which had plunged the relations between the two countries to their lowest point in six decades.
India first resumed tourist visa processing for Chinese nationals in July this year, but only through its mission in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. The global extension signals growing confidence in the trajectory of bilateral ties.
Sources said that the reopening fits into a broader package of “people-centric steps” agreed upon by the two sides to stabilise relations. Direct flights which were halted since early 2020 resumed in October this year.
Both countries have resumed the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet this summer and streamline visa procedures across several traveller categories. Embassies and consulates of both countries have been holding events to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Asia’s two biggest economies and most populous countries. Facilitating people-to-people exchanges was part of the confidence building measures between the two countries.
Momentum for normalisation accelerated after India and China reached an understanding on disengaging frontline forces along the LAC in October 2024. This was followed by a meeting in the Russian city of Kaza between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, during which the two leaders agreed to revive bilateral mechanisms and push forward boundary talks besides agreeing to keep peace and tranquility along the border.
Subsequent rounds of dialogue involving foreign and defence ministers, national security advisers, and the Special Representatives for the boundary issue, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, have expanded cooperation across multiple sectors.