The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday appreciated India to resume tourist visas for Chinese citizens. The ministry said that this step will be able to travel across the border, which is highly beneficial.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a post on X, “We focus on starting tourist visas for Chinese citizens by India. This is a positive step. It is widely beneficial to make the border cross -border travel. China will maintain communication and counseling with India to make the journey between the two countries more convenient.”
According to the Reuters report, India will resume to issue tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24 this year.
The tension between the two countries increased after the military clashes on the disputed Himalayan border in 2020. In response, India banned Chinese investment, banned hundreds of popular Chinese apps and closed passenger routes.
According to Reuters, China had suspended visa of Indian citizens and other foreigners due to the Covid-19 epidemic at the same time, but in 2022 lifted the restrictions when it resumed a visa for students and business passengers.
Tourist visa for Indian citizens was banned till March this year, when the two countries agreed to resume direct air service.
According to the Reuters report, the relationship with several high-level meetings last year has gradually improved, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday that Beijing has paid attention to this positive step.
“China is ready to maintain dialogue and consultation with India and continuously improve the level of personal exchange between the two countries,” he said.
There is a 3,800 km (2,400 mi) long border between India and China, which has been disputed since the 1950s. There was a brief but cruel border war between the two countries in 1962 and slow progress has been made in the conversation to resolve the dispute.
According to Reuters, in July, the Foreign Minister of India told his Chinese counterpart that both countries would have to resolve border disputes, retract soldiers and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalize their relations.
