India will restore the release of tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24, 2025, which means the first step in five years, the Indian embassy in Beijing announced on Wednesday.
The tension between India and China escalated after a military conflict of 2020 along their questionable Himalayan border. In response to India, India imposed a restriction on Chinese investment, banned hundreds of popular Chinese applications, and reduced passengers.
China suspended visas of Indian citizens and other foreigners at the same time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but canceled these restrictions in 2022 when it continued to issue visa for students and business passengers.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, which responded to India’s decision to restore tourist visas for Chinese citizens, said it was ready to constantly increase the level of personnel exchanges between the two countries.
Tourist visas for Indian nationals remained limited until March 2025, when both countries agreed to restore direct air services.
At the beginning of this year, both nations in principle agreed to restore direct flights, restart visa services and restore Kailash Mansarovar Yatra – the main pilgrimage route for Indian citizens.
This agreement, which aims to rebuild trust and stability in a relationship, pursued diplomatic exchanges between the new Delhi and Beijing. Foreign Minister Vikram Misri visited China for two days in January and signaled the recovery between two Asian giants.
“As the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping agreed at their meeting in Kazan in October, the Foreign Minister and the Chinese Vice -President of Foreign Minister Mr. Sun Weidong comprehensively reviewed the state in India and China in a statement.
The Ministry also confirmed: “Both parties decided to restore Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025.”
“They also agreed to arrange an early meeting of the mechanism of experts in India China to discuss the restoration of hydrological data and other cooperation on trans-bounded rivers,” added the January edition.
Based on this momentum, at the beginning of this week, the Minister of external affairs with Jaishankar led a discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council for Ministers of Foreign Ministers on the Chinese head of state.
At a separate meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Jaishankar, he emphasized the need for a long -term solution to the insistence of bilateral fears.
“The existing one to deal with aspects related to the border, normalize the exchanges of people and people and avoid restrictive business measures and roadblocks,” Jaishankar wrote on X.
“Believers that the establishment of mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity can develop bonds along a positive trajectory,” he added.
(Tagstotranslate) Minister of external matters
