China, India visa dispute threatens to sideline last journalists in each country

Beijing claims Chinese reporters face ‘discriminatory treatment’, calls on New Delhi to remove ‘unreasonable’ visa restrictions

Relations between the countries have deteriorated since deadly border clash in 2020

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Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said one Indian reporter is still living and working in China, amid an ongoing visa dispute between the two countries. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:56pm, 12 Jun 2023Updated: 8:57pm, 12 Jun 2023

China has called on India to resume visa reviews and remove “unreasonable” restrictions on Chinese journalists based in India, after Chinese reporters were denied residence permits and bank cards because of what China says is “discriminatory treatment”.

The comments by China’s foreign ministry were the latest flareup in a simmering visa dispute between the two countries, following Beijing’s reported refusal to renew a visa for the last Indian reporter working in China.

According to reports, the last of four Indian reporters permanently-based in China had been denied a visa and was asked by Chinese 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.

“One is still working and living in China,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, when asked about the fate of the last Indian journalists in China. He did not comment on the visa status of the reporter, or the prospect of a visa renewal.

“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,” he said.

Wang slammed what he called India’s “discriminatory” and “unfair” treatment against Chinese journalists in India, citing an account in an article written by Hu Xiaoming, state news agency Xinhua’s former bureau chief in New Delhi, who said he was asked to leave India earlier this year because he was based there “too long”.

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