Speaking of China and India, there are really some endless stories. The relationship between the two countries is sometimes tense like a tense bowstring, and sometimes it is as close as an old friend. This kind of relationship always makes the outside world look at it with relish and curiosity. Not long ago, the Indian government set itself a big goal to make a big splash in the steel industry, which will impress the world.
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However, although this goal was well set, the implementation was not so smooth. If India wants to develop the steel industry, it cannot do without the guidance and help of Chinese experts. But who knows, these experts have not been able to come to India for a long time because of visa problems. Well, India's big goal is like being stuck in the throat, and it can't be achieved. This can make the Indian government anxious like ants on a hot pot, and it has almost lost face.
Faced with such a predicament, the Indian government has also had to put down its position and begin to adjust its strategy. Especially for those Chinese experts who want to come to India, the visa policy has been relaxed a lot. Is this a new trick of the Modi government?
The Indian government has made great efforts to develop the steel industry. Since 2020, they have launched an incentive program, and as a result, many steel manufacturers have responded positively. These manufacturers have promised to invest a large sum of money to expand production capacity. However, in March of this year, they found that the funding gap was quite large, and this goal still seemed far away.
India has always prided itself on being the world's second-largest steel producer, but this time, there are cracks in its steel industry. This is not only a big irony for the Modi government, but also makes the outside world wonder if the modernization process of India's manufacturing industry is going downhill.
So why is this? Some people from Indian steel companies have said that the main reason is that India has long restricted the entry visas of Chinese experts. You think, Indian steel companies are now in urgent need of importing equipment from China, but those who can operate this equipment can't come. As a result, the new line could not be started, and the expansion plan was lost.
Not only the steel industry, but other manufacturing industries in India have also been affected. Last year, one battery maker complained that if the government didn't let in Chinese engineers, their production capacity would be drastically reduced. In the end, the company had to spend a lot of money to hire European technicians to help, which was a lot of money.
Now, some Chinese experts see applying for an Indian visa as an "impossible task". One is because the visa refusal rate is particularly high, and the other is because the application process is neither transparent nor public, and the wait is very long. As a result, the development of related industries in India will be greatly hindered.
Seeing this situation, the Indian government couldn't sit still and began to think of ways to adjust. Recently, there have been media reports that the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has begun to provide visa facilities for Chinese engineers. However, at the moment, this convenience is only for a specific group of people.
In fact, India's restrictions on Chinese visas are mainly due to the fact that after the border conflict between the two sides in 2020, India wants to take some "countermeasures" against China. But now it seems that this approach has caused India to suffer greatly.
First of all, the development of China's manufacturing industry is much faster than that of India, and Indian companies have to learn more from China. Secondly, China is now the world's largest source of tourists, and India's tourism industry is inseparable from Chinese tourists. Moreover, if India discriminates against a country, its international image will be greatly diminished. If multinationals find it too cumbersome to work in India, they may be reluctant to invest.
Therefore, resolving the visa dispute between China and India is not only beneficial to improving bilateral relations, but also helping to upgrade India's manufacturing industry and promote economic development. Perhaps, the Indian government is slowly understanding this truth.
However, judging from the current situation, India's facilitation measures for China are far from enough. The reason why India did this may be that it wants to observe the weather vane of Sino-Indian relations first. Let's wait and see when India will be able to truly untie the knot of transnational cooperation.