(Yicai) July 24 -- The Embassy of India in Beijing said that the country has restarted issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens after suspending the service in 2020, marking an important step in improving bilateral ties.

The new tourist visas will start being issued today under stricter requirements than the previous electronic travel papers, the embassy announced yesterday. Applicants must complete an online application and book an appointment to submit required documents at the India Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

The more complex documentation required from Chinese nationals includes a bank guarantee of CNY100,000 (USD13,985). In contrast, China's visa policy for Indian citizens is relatively lenient, with more than 85,000 such visas issued this year.

"Facilitating personnel exchanges aligns with the common interests of all parties," said Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry. "China is willing to maintain communication and consultation with India to continuously enhance the level of convenience for personnel exchanges between the two countries."

Searches for trips to India surged on Chinese online travel platforms following the tourist visa resumption, with those for flights to New Delhi soaring 10-fold the usual level, according to The Paper, citing data from Qunar. Most air travel inquiries came from Hong Kong, with tickets including tax costing on average CNY862 (USD120).

In addition, India has recently relaxed its business visa requirements for Chinese citizens, Yicai learned. The number of such visas issued has jumped 63 percent this year from a year earlier, according to data from Trip.com's visa platform.

India began issuing e-tourist visas to Chinese citizens in July 2015 and offering a five-year, multiple-entry option in October 2019 before suspending the entry of all foreign nationals in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It started gradually reopening its borders in October 2021, but kept its doors closed for Chinese visitors.

Several airlines from China and India regularly operated direct flights between Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou and Indian cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata before 2020. These have not been restored yet.

Editor: Martin Kadiev