On Thursday, China announced that “progress” had been made toward allowing the return of thousands of Indian students who had been left stranded at home as a result of Beijing’s Covid visa prohibitions and that measures were being made to ensure the “early return” of the first batch.
In his virtual address to the Global Business Leaders on Tuesday, Premier Li Keqiang pledged to ease restrictions on international travel while maintaining order. This included making it easier for thousands of stranded foreign students to return and enrol in Chinese colleges.
If they like, all foreign students may return to China to finish their education, and cross-border trade and commercial activities as well as travel for labour services will proceed in a systematic way, Li said.
A list of hundreds of Indian students who wish to return home and reenroll in their colleges is now being processed in China.
According to reports, around 23,000 Indian students, most of whom are studying medical, are stranded abroad because of COVID visa restrictions. China requested the names of students who wanted to return right away to continue their studies, and India responded with a list of several hundred pupils.
In recent weeks, several stranded students from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Russia, and other nations started to arrive on special aircraft.
China is also allowing flights from other nations, although not from India yet. According to reports, the two nations are negotiating the restoration of a few flights between them.
