China on Monday accused India of discriminatory treatment against Chinese journalists working in the country. In a retaliatory move, Beijing has reportedly asked Indian journalists working in China to leave the country once their visa expires.
China's foreign ministry asked India on Monday to remove unreasonable restrictions on Chinese journalists working in India. The South China Morning Post reported that the last of four Indian reporters permanently based in China had been denied a visa and were asked by authorities to leave the country by the end of this month. It came after India took the same action against two Chinese journalists based there, the publication reported.
SCMP quoted Wang Wenbin, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson as saying, “One (Indian journalist) is still working and living in China. China has always treated Indian journalists in China as kind as friends and family members. China has exercised restraint, upheld goodwill, and communicated with the Indian side many times. However, it is regrettable that India has not taken any action to solve the problem.”
Wang Wenbin said, “In recent years, Chinese journalists in India have been accorded unfair and discriminatory arrangements.” Wenbin said they hope India will remove unreasonable restrictions on Chinese journalists and “create favourable conditions for media exchanges.”
According to reports, China declined to renew the visas of the last two Indian journalists working in the country, after India reportedly took similar action against Chinese state media journalists in India.
Reuters reported that one of the two Indian reporters left China on Sunday after his visa expired, and a reporter from PTI is expected to leave the country at the end of this month, once his visa expires. India had four reporters based in China this year but two were barred from returning in April after being said that their visas were frozen, the publication reported.
Reuters reported Wenbin as saying that India had not approved new visas for Chinese journalists since 2020, resulting in a drop from 14 to only one Chinese correspondent there.
SCMP reported that China accused New Delhi of repeatedly refusing to approve new visa applications for Chinese journalists and had only granted short-term visas of up to three months.
However, India refused the allegations and said it allowed all foreign journalists to operate in the country and expressed hope that Beijing would allow Indian journalists to work there.