India relaxes curbs on Chinese visas as investment climate improves

India has cut red tape to speed business visas for Chinese professionals, two officials said, a major step to boost ties between the Asian giants and end chronic delays that cost output worth billions of dollars because of scarce technicians.

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

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.

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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.

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.

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