Amid escalating tensions between China and India, the last remaining Indian journalist in China has been instructed to leave the country, marking the complete withdrawal of India's media presence from the world's second largest economy. The Press Trust of India reporter is set to depart this month, following the recent departure of a Hindustan Times reporter and the denial of visa renewals for two Indian journalists from Prasar Bharati and The Hindu newspaper in April.
According to the reports by Times Of India, While Chinese and Indian authorities have not provided official comments on the matter, the visa spat between the two countries has been ongoing. Indian officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the conflict originated from Indian journalists hiring assistants in China to aid in their reporting. Chinese authorities responded by imposing restrictions, allowing only three individuals at a time from a pool provided by Chinese authorities to be employed, while India has no such cap on hiring.
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Tensions between Beijing and New Delhi have been strained since a deadly clash along their shared Himalayan frontier in 2020. While China has attempted to compartmentalize the border dispute from the overall relationship and focus on trade and economic ties, India insists that normalizing relations is contingent upon resolving the border issue.
The timing of these visa rejections is significant as India hosts the Group of Twenty and the Shanghai Cooperation Dialogue meetings this year. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the G-20 leaders summit in September, as China seeks to enhance its global diplomatic and political presence.
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This is not the first time China has engaged in visa disputes with foreign journalists. Previously, a dispute arose between China and the United States, resulting in the revocation of press credentials for reporters from US media companies after the Trump administration labeled certain Chinese media companies as "foreign missions" and imposed caps on the number of Chinese journalists allowed in the country.
In a similar vein, in 2020, two Australian journalists were forced to flee China amidst deteriorating diplomatic relations between the two nations. Initially barred from leaving, the journalists spent five days under consular protection until Australian diplomats successfully negotiated their departure. Beijing accused Canberra of raiding the homes of Chinese state-media staff and confiscating their property, further straining relations between the two countries.
