Two workers assemble a car at a manufacturing facility at Gurgaon, Haryana in India. Filephoto: VCG

India has reformed its business visa regime to ease movement of foreign engineers and technicians including those from China, according to media reports. The move, if confirmed, could offer a boost for the sustained improvement of bilateral relations, a Chinese expert said on Friday. 

According to a Reuters report, India has reformed its business visa regime to ease movement of foreign engineers and technicians, the government said in a statement, which will be a boost to local firms leaning on Chinese professionals for manufacturing services.

India's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade said late on Wednesday it had launched a new digital platform last month for companies to generate sponsorship letters to invite foreign professionals, and has simplified visa forms and will no longer ask relevant ministries for additional recommendations, according to the report.

The visas have been eased for factory installation, commissioning, maintenance, and production, among other functions, said Reuters, noting that Indian businesses predominantly depend on Chinese professionals for such services and to train local staff, especially in factories that deploy Chinese machinery.

Recently, compared with the past, there has been a certain improvement in the success rate for Chinese enterprise personnel applying for Indian business visas, which has helped improve the operations and production of Chinese companies in India, a former Chinese business representative in India told the Global Times on Friday.

To safeguard normal economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between China and India, India needs to make tangible efforts to improve the business environment for Chinese enterprises, reduce and ultimately lift restrictions on their investment and operations, treat Chinese companies on an equal footing, and create a fair and just business environment, the business insider said.

This came just about a week after another Reuters report on December 12, citing two officials, which stated that India has cut red tape to speed up business visas for Chinese professionals — a major step to boost ties between the two Asian giants and to end chronic delays that cost output worth billions of dollars because of a scarcity of technicians.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on December 12 that China has noted India's positive move of speeding up visas for Chinese professionals, saying that easing cross-border travel serves the common interests of all parties.

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks when asked to comment on a Reuters' report which suggested that India has moved to speed up visas for Chinese professionals by removing layers of scrutiny that prolonged approvals for years.  

China will maintain communication and consultation with India to further facilitate people-to-people exchange, Guo said.

The latest reported move by the Indian government sends multiple signals, indicating that against the backdrop of continued improvement in China-India relations, New Delhi is trying to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continue to work in the same direction as China, and inject substantive content into the sustained improvement of bilateral relations, Qian Feng, a researcher at Tsinghua University's Institute for National Strategy, told the Global Times on Friday.

In addition, reforming and improving the existing business visa system suggests that India recognizes its urgent need for skilled professionals in sectors such as manufacturing, particularly its reliance on Chinese professionals, said Qian, noting that the Indian government is seeking to attract more foreign professionals to work and live in India through adjustments to its visa policies, in order to promote the development of its domestic manufacturing industry.

While seizing emerging opportunities, Chinese enterprises need to closely monitor policy developments in India, Qian said.