Friday, March 29, 2024
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Indian community feels the pinch as China travel ban nears two yrs

Several thousand Indians are waiting to return to China, but authorities continue to deny business visas and visas for even immediate family members

A ban by Chinese authorities on travellers from India for the past two years has strained Indian businesses in China as well as families that have in some cases been separated for as long as two years, a report in The Hindu, says.

Indian community associations in China estimate there are several thousand Indians who are waiting to return to China. In addition thousands of students enrolled in Chinese universities – most in medical colleges have been calling on the Chinese government to facilitate their return.

Following talks with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi on March 25, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said he “took up strongly the predicament of Indian students studying in China who have not been allowed to return, citing COVID restrictions.”

“We hope that China will take a non-discriminatory approach, since it involves the future of so many young people,” he said. “Minister Wang Yi assured me that he would speak to the relevant authorities on his return on this matter. He also recognised the particular concerns that medical students have in this difficult situation.”

Unlike the students, businesses said their cases, as well as those of families that have been separated by China’s travel bans, have not received similar attention.

Following talks with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi on March 25, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said he “took up strongly the predicament of Indian students studying in China who have not been allowed to return, citing COVID restrictions.”

More than a dozen people told The Hindu in interviews that Chinese authorities have for much of the past two years continued to deny business visas as well as visas for even immediate family members, including spouses and children, of Indian nationals who have remained in China to run their businesses.

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China is the only major country still closed off from the rest of the world with restrictions on international travel. 

China, which is currently dealing with a surge of Omicron cases especially in Shanghai, has said it will continue with its “zero COVID” approach and there are no signs of opening up..

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David Solomon
David Solomon
(For over four decades, David Solomon’s insightful stories about people, places, animals –in fact almost anything and everything in India and abroad – as a journalist and traveler, continue to engross, thrill, and delight people like sparkling wine. Photography is his passion.)

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