India looks at ‘graded’ opening of economy to China, easing curbs

A carefully “graded” opening up of the Indian economy to China is under consideration at the highest levels of government, with any easing contingent on calibrated give-and-take by Beijing, The Indian Express has learned.

The discussion comes amid the rapidly shifting global trade landscape and the looming threat of heightened US tariffs.

Officials say the approach under discussion would be incremental rather than sweeping. India has already eased the business visa process for Chinese workers, and the government is now examining whether some investment-related restrictions could also be relaxed.

“It (easing of norms for China) is being worked upon. It will take time though. There has to be reciprocity. Earlier, flights were restored, visas were given, entry norms were eased as we had to allow technicians for stalled projects etc. So it will happen gradually,” said an official aware of the deliberations. Beijing has curbs on a range of exports in services.

There has been substantial spadework. A high-level committee chaired by NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba had earlier recommended withdrawing curbs on Chinese investments. Separately, the Economic Survey 2023-24 had made the

case for attracting investment from Chinese companies to strengthen India’s export competitiveness.

India had imposed restrictions on investments from China through Press Note 3 in April 2020, making government approval mandatory for investments from countries sharing a land border with India. The move was aimed at preventing opportunistic takeovers during the Covid-19 pandemic and has remained in force amid heightened national security concerns following the Galwan clash later that year.

Parallel diplomatic efforts have also sought to stabilise the broader relationship. Last year, New Delhi and Beijing agreed on a series of measures to repair ties: resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra; restoration of direct flights; issuance of visas for journalists and think-tank researchers, and the sharing of trans-border river data.

At the time, India said the two sides had “reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively” and agreed on “people-centric steps” aimed at stabilising and rebuilding ties.

In line with that approach, India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals and subsequently eased entry norms for skilled workers following sustained representations from industry. A dedicated portal has since been made operational to fast-track approvals for short-term business visas for Chinese technicians, seen as critical for operationalising production units and boosting output under the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has also allowed Indian companies to generate sponsorship letters for foreign professionals under the e-Production Investment Business Visa (e-B-4) framework.

Industry bodies had warned that prolonged delays in visa approvals were hurting manufacturing, with firms unable to operationalise plants equipped with imported Chinese machinery. They have argued that dependence on China for key components in electrical and electronic segments makes the presence of Chinese technical personnel essential, particularly to meet export commitments.

Indian visa issuances to Chinese nationals fell from around 2 lakh in 2019 to just a few thousand in 2024. In contrast, the Chinese Embassy in Delhi said more than 1.8 lakh visas were issued to Indian citizens in 2023, followed by over 85,000 visas between January 1 and April 9, 2025.