They are two of the most populous countries in the world, and their neighbors are looking for more tourists, but for the majority of the past five years it has been difficult for Indians and Chinese citizens to take vacations in each other’s countries.
It appears to change in the end as the previous strange relationship between the two Asian giants finally begins to thaw.
India issuing tourist visas for Chinese citizens for the first time in five years, allowing citizens from neighboring countries to visit each other freely, marking a critical reset of relations after a fatal border conflict has led to a deep freeze.
From Thursday, July 24th, Chinese people can apply for tourist visas to India, the Indian Embassy in Beijing said on Wednesday.
The “positive news” lies in the “common interests of all parties,” said Guo Zi-Kung, a Chinese foreign spokesman. “China is willing to maintain communication and consultation with India to continuously improve the level of facilitating personnel exchanges between the two countries.”
After deep tensions in June 2020, it gradually normalized between India and China. At least 20 Indians and four Chinese soldiers have been killed in the brutal hand-to-hand battle in the Galwan Valley.
Both countries maintain a heavy military presence along the de facto 2,100 miles (3,379 km) boundary known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The 2020 clash in the conflict zone between Indian Ladakh and China-controlled Aksai Jaw marked the first fatal conflict along the Indian-China conflict border for more than 40 years.
Tension escalated in the aftermath. India has banned multiple Chinese apps, increased scrutiny of Chinese investment, and direct air routes between two neighbors have been cancelled.
Both countries have closed their borders to foreign tourists due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but visa restrictions continue even as global travel begins to resume.
According to Reuters, China lifted tourist visa restrictions for Indian citizens in March after Beijing and New Delhi announced they would work to resume direct air travel.
Today, mutual movements in India are seen as a welcome move by many.
According to Sarvjeet Sankrit, founder of Delhi-based travel agency Ghum India Ghum India Roam, “Inbound tourism has been going through a tough period since Covid, so it’s good for us that another market has opened.”
The lifting restrictions in India are “good for vehicle owners, guides and hotel owners,” he said. “Everyone will get more business.”
Kate Hu, China’s national team of state whose boyfriend is from India, said he was excited by the prospect of finally being able to visit his family.
The Hong Kong-based comedian had already booked tickets to visit India for her sister’s wedding in April.
“I lost a bit of money there,” Hu said. “We were talking about getting married just to get married with a visa, so now I’m happy to hear that I don’t need to get married with a visa alone,” she joked.
Her boyfriend is currently in India to take care of his sick mother. “If this (the news) came out early, I could have gone with him,” she said.
Delhi consultant Pradeep K adds that it is a “good thing” called India’s latest move, “it will allow more interaction between India and China.”
He said he was excited about the prospect of traveling to China to see the pandas.
“Will paper diplomatic moves change your mindset and bring people closer? Your guess is as good as mine.”
Flights and pilgrimage resume
The decision to remove India’s visa restrictions is the latest in a series of measures New Delhi and Beijing took to reset their ties after Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a bystander of Russia’s BRICS summit, met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year.
In January, India and China agreed to resume direct commercial flights, and Beijing recently agreed to reopen Rush Manasarovar in West Tibet to Indian pilgrims for the first time in five years.
According to a statement from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this month’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met with Beijing’s Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Harsh V. Pant, head of foreign policy at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank, said there was a “gradual normalization of India-China relations.”
“There is a certain recalibration from both ends, but this also reflects India’s unique challenges in China’s management,” he added.
Despite ongoing tensions, India remains economically dependent on China, seeing the “potential to build an economic partnership” while clarifying the red line, Pants said.
Saurabi Singh, a Delhi-based teacher, said while India and China have fought wars in the past, “relationships should change and change.”
She added: “We have labor, markets, manufacturing capabilities and a love for food, tea and electronics that connect people from both countries.”
