In a deepening rift between China and India, the last Indian journalist in China has been asked to leave the country this month, marking the culmination of a tit-for-tat row that has seen both nations ejecting each other’s reporters. This latest development exacerbates the deteriorating ties between the Asian economic powerhouses, as India’s media presence in the world’s second-largest economy vanishes.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Chinese authorities have instructed the Press Trust of India reporter to leave China. Previously, Indian media outlets had four reporters based in the country. The Hindustan Times reporter left over the weekend, while two Indian journalists from public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and The Hindu newspaper were denied visa renewals in April.
Despite requests for comment, both China’s foreign ministry and India’s Ministry of External Affairs remained silent on the issue. Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated that there was still one Chinese journalist awaiting visa renewal in India. In response, New Delhi rejected visa renewal applications from two journalists from Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television.
The visa dispute between the two countries started a few months ago when Indian journalists faced restrictions on hiring local assistants in China. Chinese authorities implemented measures limiting employment to three individuals at a time, drawn exclusively from a pool provided by the Chinese authorities. In contrast, India does not have any caps on hiring.
Tensions between Beijing and New Delhi have been strained since a deadly border clash on their shared Himalayan frontier in 2020. While China has attempted to keep the border issue separate from the overall relationship and focus on trade and economic ties, India has insisted that relations cannot return to normal until the border dispute is resolved. The recent visa rejections occurred as India hosted the Group of Twenty (G-20) and the Shanghai Cooperation Dialogue meetings, with Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to attend the G-20 leaders summit in September as China aims to enhance its global diplomatic and political presence.
It is worth noting that China has been embroiled in a long-standing dispute with the United States over journalist visas. After the Trump administration designated several Chinese media companies as “foreign missions” and imposed restrictions on the number of Chinese journalists in the country, Beijing retaliated by revoking press credentials for reporters at U.S. media companies.
This incident follows the departure of two Australian journalists from China in 2020 amid escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations. The Australian journalists were initially barred from leaving the country but were eventually allowed to depart after negotiations between Australian diplomats and Chinese authorities. The tensions stemmed from Beijing’s accusations that Canberra had raided the homes of Chinese state-media staff and seized their property.
As media freedom continues to face challenges in the context of geopolitical tensions, the expulsion of the last Indian journalist from China underscores the widening divide between the two Asian giants and further restricts the flow of information between them.
