China to permit 'some' Indian students to return: Chinese Foreign Ministry

China on Friday announced plans to permit the return of some Indian students stranded in India for over two years following the visa and flight restrictions imposed by Beijing due to the Covid19 pandemicChinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here that China attaches high importance to Indian students concerns about returning to China for studies We have shared with the Indian sides the procedures and experience of other countries students returning to ChinaActually the work for Indian students return has already been started All that remains to be done is for the Indian side to provide the list of students who really need to come back to China he saidAs per earlier reports over 23000 Indian students mostly studying medicine in Chinese colleges are stuck in India after they returned home as the coronavirus broke out in China in December 2019 They could not return to China due to the restrictions imposed by the Chinese government to arrest the spread of the contagionSince then they made desperate attempts to return to China to rejoin their classes but had to confine to online classes as Beijing cancelled all flights and visas for IndiansBesides the students hundreds of families of Indians working in China too were stuck back home in view of China cancelling visas and flights from IndiaWe understand that there is a large number of Indian students studying in China India may need some time to collect the namesChina is ready to receive some of Indian students under the current complicated severe epidemic situation In handling foreign students returning to China for studies we need to take into consideration the international epidemic situation the evolving circumstances and their majors This principle applies equally to all foreign students Zhao saidAsked about the timeline to permit the return of Indian students Zhao said the Chinese embassy in India and existing channels will work to facilitate and offer convenience to the studentsTo another question whether China has provided any criteria to India to select students to return Zhao said I dont have the information about the specifics you asked but I am sure these details will be sorted out through communication through existing channels including the embassy so that we will actually deliver the good newsFollowing the Chinese announcement the Indian Embassy here sought the details of the students intending to returnFollowing the meeting of External Affairs Minister of India Dr S Jaishankar with the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of the Peoples Republic of China Wang Yi on 25 March 2022 the Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on a needassessed basis the Indian Embassy here said in a statementIn order to facilitate this return the Indian Embassy intends to prepare a list of such students which will be shared with the Chinese side for their consideration Therefore Indian students are requested to provide necessary information by filling up the Google Form at this link httpsformsgleMJmgByc7BrJj9MPv7 latest by 08 May 2022 it saidOnce the collated information is shared with the Chinese side they would consult relevant Chinese departments to verify the list and indicate whether the identified students can travel to China to complete the course the statement saidThis coordination process would be carried out in a timebound manner it saidThe Chinese side has also conveyed that eligible students should unconditionally abide by the Covid19 prevention measures and agree to bear all expenses related to Covid19 prevention measures by themselves it saidIn recent months China has been permitting students from some friendly countries like Pakistan Thailand Solomon Islands and recently Sri Lanka to return but remained silent about allowing Indian students as well as hundreds of family members of Indians working in China to travel backThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever