NEW DELHI: In a major relief for Indian medical students keen to return to China to continue their studies, Beijing on Friday announced plans to permit the return of "some" Indian students who were stranded in India for over two years because of visa and flight restrictions imposed due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing 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 China. The work for Indian students' return has already started. All that remains to be done is for the Indian side to provide the list of students who need to come back to China," he said.
"We understand that many Indian students are studying in China. India may need some time to collect the names," Zhao said.
Over 22,000 Indian students, mostly studying medicine in Chinese colleges, have been stuck in India for two years after the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in China in December 2019.
These students couldn't return to Beijing due to the travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese government as it cancelled visas and flights from India in its bid to arrest the spread of the pandemic.
The medical students were thus forced to take online classes. But they were desperate to go back because they had to take practical lessons, a must for getting a medical degree. Worried about their careers, the students ran a social media campaign, "Take us back to China."
"China is ready to receive some Indian students under the current complicated severe epidemic situation. In handling international students returning to China for studies, we need to consider the international epidemic situation, the evolving circumstances, and their majors. This principle applies equally to all foreign students," Zhao added.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar held a meeting with the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi, on March 25 and discussed the "future of young people."
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 and hundreds of family members of Indians working in China to travel back.
In a statement, the Indian embassy in Beijing said, "The Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on a need-assessed basis. 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 the necessary information by filling up the Google Form at this link (https://forms.gle/MJmgByc7BrJj9MPv7), latest by May 8."
Once the collated information is shared with the Chinese, 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 said. This coordination process would be carried out in a time-bound manner, the embassy added.