The news has come as a relief to thousands of Indian students who were studying in China
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China recently announced that it had plans to allow the return of “some” Indian students who had been stranded in India for over two years following the visa and flight restrictions imposed by Beijing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The news has come as a relief to thousands of Indian students who were studying in China.
Indian students who want to return to China should provide the necessary information by filling up a Google Form on the Indian mission’s website by May 8, the Indian Embassy in Beijing said in a press release.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told mediapersons that “China attaches high importance to Indian students’ concern for returning to China to resume their studies, and has shared with the Indian side the procedure and experience of the return of students from other countries.”
“Once the collated information is shared with the Chinese side, they would consult relevant Chinese departments to verify the list and indicate whether the identified students can travel to China to complete the course.”
“China understands that the number of Indian students is so large that it takes some time for the Indian side to collect the information. All in all, China has been prepared for the return of some Indian students,” Lijian said.
Reports indicate that more than 23,000 Indian students, mostly studying medicine in Chinese colleges, were stuck in India after they returned home as the coronavirus broke out in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. They could not return to China due to the restrictions imposed by the Chinese government to arrest the spread of the contagion. Since then, they had made attempts to return to China to re-join their classes but had to confine to online classes as Beijing cancelled all flights and visas for Indians.
Other than the students, hundreds of families of Indians working in China too were stuck in India because China cancelled visas and flights from India.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman, in his remarks, also highlighted the current Covid-19 situation. “What I want to stress is that the current Covid situation remains complex and severe. The arrangement for the return of foreign students to China needs to be made in a coordinated manner in light of the changing international epidemic situation and the characteristics of the students’ majors. This principle applies equally to all foreign students,” Zhao said.
Following the Chinese announcement, the Indian Embassy in Beijing asked for details of students keen to return. “Following the meeting of External Affairs Minister of India, S Jaishankar with the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi on March 25, 2022, the Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on a need-assessed basis,” the Indian Embassy here said in a statement.
“In order to facilitate this (return), the Indian Embassy intends to prepare a list of such students which will be shared with the Chinese side for their consideration. Therefore, Indian students are requested to provide necessary information by filling up the Google Form at this link (https://forms.gle/MJmgByc7BrJj9MPv7), latest by 08 May 2022,” it said.
“Once the collated information is shared with the Chinese side, they would consult relevant Chinese departments to verify the list and indicate whether the identified students can travel to China to complete the course,” the statement said.
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