Portal to facilitate visa for Chinese technicians started: Official

New Delhi: A portal to facilitate business visas for Chinese technicians, whose expertise are required in Indian manufacturing firms in the PLI sector, has started functioning, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

The move assumes significance as some domestic manufacturing firms have flagged the issue of delay in getting visas for Chinese technicians, who are required for works like installation or repair of certain machines, besides training workers in India.

"The portal started last week only. It is to streamline the process where business visas will be given to Chinese technicians in the PLI sector," the official said.

The official added that the home affairs ministry has held interaction with different departments to sensitise and train them in how the portal will be used.

Normally, these experts require a visa for 3-6 months for works like installation of machines and training workforce to use those machines.

The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors, including telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell battery, drones, and pharma with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

Investments by Chinese firms in India are subject to greater scrutiny after the issuance of Press Note 3 by the government in April 2020. Under Press Note 3, the government has made prior approval mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share a land border with India.

These countries are China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Afghanistan. As per that decision, FDI proposals from these countries need government approval for investments in India in any sector.

India has received only USD 2.5 billion foreign direct investments (FDI) from China during April 2000 and March 2024. Trade and investment relations between the two countries are not so cordial after the border standoff.

The Indian and Chinese military have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not been achieved yet, though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.

Indian companies face issues in exporting goods to China because of non-tariff barriers there. India's exports to China in 2023-24 stood at USD 16.65 billion as against USD 15.3 billion in 2022-23, while imports surged to USD 101.74 billion from USD 98.5 billion in 2022-23. The government has taken a series of steps, such as rolling out PLI schemes and mandatory quality control norms, to reduce dependence on Chinese goods.