After a five-year gap, India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens starting July 24, 2025, the Indian Embassy in Beijing announced on Wednesday. The decision will aim to improve ties between the two countries, which had remained tense since the 2020 border clash.

Earlier this year, both India and China had agreed in principle to bring back several people-to-people exchanges. This included resuming direct flights, restarting visa services, and allowing the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to take place once again.

After Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited China in January for two days, both sides held wide-ranging talks to rebuild confidence and cooperation.

During a meeting in Kazan last October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping had agreed to improve ties. Following up on this, India's Foreign Ministry said:

“As agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October, Foreign Secretary and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister HE Mr Sun Weidong reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilise and rebuild ties.”

The ministry also confirmed plans to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025.

The two countries also plan to hold an early meeting under the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss sharing of hydrological data and other joint work on trans-border rivers, the ministry said in a January press release.

Building on these diplomatic efforts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this week during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

He also held a separate meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where he pointed out key concerns in the relationship.

“Incumbent on us to address aspects related to the border, normalising people-to-people exchanges and avoiding restrictive trade measures and roadblocks,” Jaishankar posted on X.

He added: “Confident that on the foundation of mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity, ties can develop along a positive trajectory.”

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