India on Wednesday announced the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese nationals, making another step in the normalisation of bilateral ties that were taken to their lowest point in six decades by a military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets China President Xi Jinping, in Beijing. (@DrSJaishankar X)

The move, unveiled by the Indian embassy in Beijing on social media, came almost two months after India and China agreed in April on the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a gap of five years – seen as the first major breakthrough in people-to-people exchanges.

A post on WeChat by the Indian embassy in Beijing said Chinese nationals could apply for tourist visas to visit India by filling applications online from July 24. The post said applicants could then book appointments to submit documents at centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Barring the social media post, there was no official word from the Indian side on the development. People familiar with the matter confirmed the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese citizens and said on condition of anonymity that the process for accepting applications will now commence.

India had imposed wide-ranging restrictions on visas for Chinese nationals after border skirmishes between troops of the two countries in April-May 2020 triggered the face-off in Ladakh sector of the LAC. A brutal clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020 that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops sent bilateral ties plummeting to their lowest point since the border war of 1962.

China did not impose restrictions on visas for Indian nationals though travel between the two countries was impacted by the lack of direct flights. China issued about 85,000 visas to Indians, mainly students, tourists and business professionals, between January and June 2025.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic and the standoff on the LAC, India issued almost 200,000 visas to Chinese nationals in 2019, but the figure declined to just 2,000 in 2024.

The two sides reached an understanding on disengagement of forces along the LAC last October, and this was followed by a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, who agreed to revive several mechanisms to normalise bilateral relations and address the long-standing border dispute.

Since then, there have been several meetings between the foreign and defence ministers and national security advisers of India and China, and the Special Representatives for the border issue – NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. These meetings have resulted in forward movement in normalising relations, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansaorvar pilgrimage to a holy mountain and lake in Tibet.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on July 14 when he visited China for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and discussed ways to take bilateral ties forward. This was Jaishankar’s first visit to China after the start of the stand-off on the LAC.

“The two sides agreed to take additional practical steps, including travel to each other’s country and direct flight connectivity, for facilitating people-to-people exchanges,” an Indian readout issued after the meeting said.

Jaishankar said at the meeting that India and China must build on “good progress” in normalising their relations by addressing issues related to the border, including de-escalation, and avoiding “restrictive trade measures and roadblocks” to economic cooperation.

He was referring to China’s curbs on exports of rare earth minerals – in many of which Beijing has a near monopoly – and fertilisers. The restrictions on rare earth exports have been officially raised through diplomatic channels by India, especially in view of the impact on manufacturers of electric vehicles.