The first batch of passengers taking the resumed China-India direct flight after a five-year hiatus check in their luggage and prepare to depart for Guangzhou on October 26, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Indigo

In a yet another sign of deepening thaw in ties between New Delhi and Beijing, the Indian government reopened tourist visa services for Chinese nationals at its embassies and consulates worldwide, according to several Indian media reports. 

This move has gradually restored the willingness of Chinese citizens to travel to India, bringing positive impacts. However, India still needs to improve the quality in terms of security guarantees and simplifying visa procedures in order to attract more Chinese tourists, a Chinese travel agency told the Global Times on Sunday.

Sources said that a notification regarding this has been issued this week and this move marks another step in the steady normalization of ties after a four-year chill triggered by the 2020 Line of Actual Control (LAC) standoff between the two neighbors, according to The Indian Express.

The China-India direct air services, which had been on a five-year hiatus, officially resumed on October 26. The Indian government said the return of direct flights will "facilitate people-to-people contact" and help "the gradual normalization of bilateral exchanges."

India first resumed tourist visa processing for Chinese nationals in July this year, but only through its mission in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The global extension signals growing confidence in the trajectory of bilateral ties, The Indian Express said.

Sources said that the reopening fits into a broader package of "people-centric steps" agreed upon by the two sides to stabilize relations, per The Indian Express.

The initial opening of tourist visas for India and the resumption of direct flights between China and India have gradually boosted Chinese citizens' willingness to travel to India, generating a positive impact, Xu Xiaolei, marketing manager at CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

However, the possibility of large-scale growth in the short term remains limited. India still needs to make continuous improvements in enhancing the quality of tourism services, strengthening safety assurances, simplifying visa procedures, and increasing marketing efforts in China to attract more Chinese tourists, Xu noted.

During his visit to India on August 18, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said to his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the two countries should explore right ways for neighboring major countries to coexist with mutual respect and trust, pursue common development and achieve win-win cooperation.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India, lessons could be learned from the past, and it is imperative for the two sides to have correct strategic perceptions, view each other as partners and opportunities rather than rivals or threats, and invest their valuable resources in development and revitalization, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Jaishankar in response, said that India is willing to take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to deepen political mutual trust with China, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in economic and trade fields, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and jointly maintain peace and tranquility in border areas, per Xinhua.