(Image source from: Canva.com)
In the context of improving relations with China and record-setting tariffs from the US, India has taken steps to speed up the processing time for business visas for Chinese business leaders. As per reports from Reuters, India aims to give business visas to Chinese companies in under a month by cutting down on the bureaucratic checks. An Indian official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated to Reuters, “We have eliminated the step of administrative checks and are now processing business visas within four weeks.” China’s foreign ministry recognized that India has made “positive moves” to support exchanges between people for mutual benefits.
According to ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, China is open to ongoing discussions with India to keep improving the ease of exchanges, as reported by Reuters. The relationship between India and China worsened in 2020 due to rising border tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The conflict started in early May when Chinese soldiers moved into debated regions, opposing Indian roadwork in the Galwan River valley and around Pangong Lake, which led to intense confrontations and clashes. Things escalated on June 15 when there was a violent encounter in the Galwan Valley, where Indian and Chinese troops fought physically, resulting in 20 Indian deaths and at least four Chinese fatalities, marking the first deaths on this border since 1975.
Nevertheless, in the past five years, relations started to get better through ongoing diplomatic and military discussions, especially between the corps commanders at the LAC. Progress accelerated in 2024 with agreements on patrolling practices, leading to the complete pullback from the last confrontation areas at Depsang and Demchok by December 2024, after the 22nd round of talks among corps commanders in October. It is important to highlight that the US has significantly influenced the relationship between India and China. During President Trump's second term, US tariffs on Indian imports soared to an unprecedented 50% by August, prompting a shift towards China. Notably, the trade between India and China remains strong but is quite lopsided, with a total trade volume of $127.7 billion in FY25 (ending March 2025), up from $118.4 billion in FY24, making China India's second-largest trading partner after the US.
As relations improve, the early part of FY26 (April-July 2025) showed a 19.97% increase in exports to $5.75 billion and a 13% rise in imports to $40.65 billion, indicating possible growth through renewed border trade and relaxed visa and investment regulations, even as India aims to diversify to lessen its dependence.
