The last Indian journalist in China has been asked to leave amid escalating tensions between Beijing and New Delhi.
Chinese authorities have instructed the Press Trust of India reporter to leave the country this month, as reported by Bloomberg.
His departure will wipe India’s media presence from the world’s second-largest economy at a moment of deteriorating ties.
Indian and China have been taking such measures in a tit-for-tat row deepening a rift between the Asian economic powerhouses.
Indian media outlets had four reporters based in China earlier this year.
While the Hindustan Times reporter left over the weekend, two Indian journalists from public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and The Hindu newspaper were denied visa renewals in China in April.
China has gone from having 14 journalists in India in 2020 to just a single reporter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday.
“At present, India still has not approved a visa extension for the only remaining Chinese journalist in India,” Wang said.
“We hope that India will meet China halfway and continue to issue visas for journalists and remove unreasonable restrictions,” he added.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India said in a statement that Chinese reporters had been operating in the South Asian country without any difficulty, but this was not the case for Indian journalists in China. Both countries were in touch over the issue, it added.
Relations between Beijing and New Delhi have deteriorated since the deadly clash took place when Chinese soldiers unilaterally broke the border sanctity maintained by both parties.
While China has sought to keep that dispute separate from the overall relationship and focus on trade and economic ties, India has said relations cannot go back to normal until the border issue is resolved.
According to the Indian officials familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation, said the visa spat began a few months ago over Indian journalists hiring assistants in China to help with reporting.
Beijing imposed strict measures limiting employment to three individuals at a time who must come from a pool provided by the Chinese authorities, they said. India doesn’t have a cap on hiring.