India resumes tourist visas for Chinese nationals after 5 yrs

Beijing: After a five-year hiatus, India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals, marking a significant step towards mending strained bilateral ties following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020. The Indian Embassy in Beijing announced that Chinese citizens can apply for tourist visas beginning Thursday, with detailed guidelines and documentation requirements available for visa application centres in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Tourist visa issuance was originally suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pause extended amid ongoing tensions over the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The current decision follows a series of diplomatic engagements aimed at rebuilding trust between the two nations.

Notably, the move comes shortly after Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Beijing on July 14–15, where he held comprehensive talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. During the meetings, Jaishankar stressed that sustained normalisation of ties could yield mutually beneficial outcomes and called for a “far-seeing approach” to manage the relationship.

In recent months, India and China have taken several steps towards restoring normalcy, including the disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control last October and the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra last month after nearly five years.

With PTI inputs