China denies visa extension to last Indian journalist reporting from the country

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday asked the last Indian journalist working in China to leave the country by the end of June 2023, reported Reuters quoting a source.

The last Indian journalist in China was associated with the Press Trust of India (PTI) and will have to leave the country when his visa expires by the end of the month.

In the beginning of 2023, there were 4 Indian journalists working in China, out of which two were barred from returning in April as their visas were frozen.

Out of the remaining two journalists, one journalist departed China on June 11 as his visa reached its expiration, leaving only one Indian reporter, who is expected to leave by the end of June.

As a result, India will soon have no media representatives present in the world's second-largest economy.

China accused India of discrimination and unfair treatment of its journalists working in the country.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday said that Chinese reporters were treated unfairly in India. He also claimed that India has not approved visas of Chinese journalists since 2020, resulting in a drop from 14 to one Chinese reporter in India.

In response to China's assertions of "unfair" treatment of Chinese journalists in India, the Indian government emphasised that Chinese reporters had been functioning in the country without any difficulty. However, the same cannot be said for Indian journalists operating in China, a Bloomberg report said.

According to a report by Reuters, India approved temporary visas last month of some Chinese reporters for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting.

The foreign ministry also said that India has allowed all foreign journalists to operate in the country and expects China would also allow Indian journalists in the country.

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