The visas issued to Chinese nationals by India has seen a sharp drop, with the number dropping from 200,000 visas issued in 2019-20 to just 2,000 in 2024.
According to a Hindustan Times report, citing senior officials in the national security establishment and economic ministries, about 200,000 visas were issued to Chinese nationals in 2019 before the pandemic struck and the June 15, 2020 Galwan clash, and that this number was brought down to just 2,000 in 2024 after a structural screening of Chinese investments in India.
Twenty Indian soldiers, led by Colonel Santosh Babu, were martyred at Galwan while thwarting a PLA incursion into Indian territory in East Ladakh. An undisclosed number of Chinese soldiers also lost their lives in the clash.
According to the report, the government, however, has granted around 1,500 visas to Chinese nationals over the past eight months. Of these, around 1,000 visas were issued to meet the requirements of the Indian electronics industry. Another 1,000 visas are currently being processed, primarily for the electronics sector, following rigorous screening procedures.
Despite the Indian government’s efforts, including reducing corporate income tax and introducing a Rs 2 lakh crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme across twelve sectors, the trade deficit with China widened to over $38.11 billion in the first five months of the current year. During January-May 2024, India managed to export only $8.93 billion worth of goods to China, while imports from Beijing totaled $47 billion.
Simultaneously, the Indian electronic industry reported job losses attributed to the lack of visas for Chinese businessmen and workers. However, official data released on 14 June revealed that India’s merchandise exports in May 2024 grew by more than 9 per cent year-on-year. This increase was driven by exports of petroleum products, engineering goods, and electronics, with electronic goods alone amounting to $29.12 billion in FY 2024 compared to $23.55 billion in FY 2023, largely due to the PLI scheme, added the report.
The structural screening of Chinese investments post-Galwan revealed that Chinese telecommunication companies such as Vivo were violating Indian laws, and were even charged by the Enforcement Directorate for laundering funds to China to evade Indian taxes, reported HT, citing five top officials.
ED has accused Vivo of siphoning about $13 billion back to China, apart from violations of visa conditions by its executives and workers.
“We are deeply alarmed by the current action of the authorities. The recent arrests demonstrate continued harassment and as such include an environment of uncertainty amongst the wider industry landscape. We are resolute in using all legal avenues to address and challenge these accusations,” Hindustan Times report quoted Vivo as saying in a statement after the ED action.
While Indian industry advocates for increased visas for Chinese workers and technicians, the national security establishment, including economic ministries, insists that visas will only be issued following thorough vetting.
Unchecked visa issuance risks undermining India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative and could adversely affect domestic manufacturing, reported HT.
One official told HT that with the Xi Jinping regime continuing to put pressure on India on land and sea, the PM Modi government had no option but to take steps to ensure the economy is less dependent on China.
“India’s national economic security cannot be compromised for a few pieces of silver…. Visas will be issued for Chinese technicians and businessmen only after screening with assurance that travel conditions will not be violated,” HT quoted a Cabinet minister as saying.
India-China bilateral relations have remained frosty since the PLA incursions in May 2020, with Beijing continuing to obstruct Indian Army patrols on its side of the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
Despite numerous rounds of military and diplomatic discussions, the PLA has yet to de-escalate from the LAC and restore the pre-conflict status quo in East Ladakh. Four years after the Galwan incident, the Chinese military maintains a substantial presence in East Ladakh, supported by reserves from the mainland.
The situation in the Indian Ocean Region is similarly tense, with Chinese surveillance ships regularly deployed throughout the year. Recently, the Chinese ballistic missile tracking vessel Yuan Wang 7 was stationed 1,000 kilometers south of Kanyakumari, while PLA Navy anti-piracy units operated in Djibouti, the Gulf of Aden, and the Madagascar channel.
With inputs from agencies
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2 lakh to just 2,000: India sharply curtails visas to Chinese nationals post Galwan
