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

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."