India frees up visas for Chinese professionals in key step to boost ties

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautiously rekindles ties with Beijing in the face of punishing U.S. tariffs, the officials said New Delhi dropped a layer of bureaucratic scrutiny and shortened visa approval times to less than a month.

Reuters is the first to report the development.

India had blocked virtually all Chinese visits after the nuclear-armed neighbours clashed on their Himalayan frontier in mid-2020, widening its vetting of business visas beyond the home and foreign ministries.

The issues around securing visas have now been completely resolved, said one of the officials with knowledge of the matter, who both spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We have removed the layer of administrative vetting and are processing the business visas within four weeks," the official added.

India's ministries of external affairs, home and trade, as well as the prime minister's office and the top think tank on policy, did not respond to e-mail requests for comment.

Following the news, China's foreign ministry said it had noticed "positive action" from India to facilitate people-to-people exchanges in the common interest.

"China is willing to maintain communication and consultation with India to continuously enhance the level of facilitation of exchanges," ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun added.

Think tank the Observer Research Foundation estimates the tougher scrutiny led to production losses of $15 billion over four years to Indian electronics makers, which import key machinery from China to make mobile telephones.

Major Chinese electronics companies, such as Xiaomi, struggled to get visas, Reuters reported last year.

Industry executives have said such curbs hit their plans to expand in India, while the solar industry was also hit by shortages of skilled labour.

The removal of red tape comes after Modi visited China this year for the first time in seven years, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussing ways to improve ties.

Subsequently, both countries resumed direct flights, for the first time since 2020.

The easing of curbs was prompted by a high-level committee headed by a former cabinet secretary, Rajiv Gauba, now a member of the top government think tank, which also aims to ease investment curbs on China that hurt foreign investor sentiment.

"We welcome the government's decision to expedite skilled-visa approvals for professionals from land-bordering countries," said Pankaj Mohindroo, head of industry body the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association.

"This reflects a collaborative approach and the government's acceptance of our recommendations."

The changes come at a crucial time for India, which is scaling up production across categories from finished goods to components and sub-assemblies, he added.

WARMING CHINA TIES FOLLOW US TARIFFS

India's warmer ties with China follow the surprise levy of a 50% tariff on Indian goods by U.S. President Donald Trump, including a penal tariff of 25% for buying Russian oil.

That prompted India to reshape its diplomatic calculus, reworking ties with China and strengthening ties with Russia, while continuing to negotiate a trade deal with Washington.

In this effort, Modi has doubled down on focusing measures to boost growth by improving the environment for foreign investment, including business with China.

India also recently cut consumption tax and eased labour laws to lure foreign investors.

"We are cautiously easing some rules around restriction on China, which, we hope, will improve the overall business environment," the second official said.