India eases visa curbs on Chinese workers as New Delhi moves to stabilise ties with Beijing: Report

File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

India has moved to speed up business visas for Chinese professionals, Reuters reported, in a major step aimed at improving bilateral ties and ending long delays that have cost Indian industries billions of dollars because of a shortage of skilled technicians. Two officials told Reuters that New Delhi has removed a key layer of bureaucratic scrutiny and cut visa approval times to under a month as Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautiously works to stabilise relations with Beijing.

According to the officials, India had tightened its visa vetting process after the 2020 border clash, slowing down approvals for nearly all Chinese visitors. One official said the problems have now been resolved. The official added, "We have removed the layer of administrative vetting and are processing the business visas within four weeks."

Reuters said that ministries approached for comments did not respond.

China reacted to the development by saying it had noticed "positive action" from India to improve people-to-people exchanges. Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, "China is willing to maintain communication and consultation with India to continuously enhance the level of facilitation of exchanges."

The easing of restrictions is expected to help Indian electronics manufacturers who faced delays in bringing in Chinese specialists needed to operate and maintain key machinery. The Observer Research Foundation estimates that tougher scrutiny caused production losses of 15 billion dollars over four years. Chinese companies like Xiaomi also struggled to obtain visas, affecting expansion plans. The solar sector was hit by shortages of trained workers.

The development comes amid signs of a thaw in relations between the two Asian giants after years of strain following the Galwan Valley clashes. A significant step toward stabilising ties took place in September, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the SCO Summit in Tianjin and met Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Notably, the easing of tensions also comes at a time when both countries are facing rising tariff pressure from the Trump administration.