Addressing the demonstration by Indian students in front of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China has no choice but to take preventative measures like restrictions to contain Covid-19.
Several Indian students enrolled in Chinese universities are stranded in India as they cannot go back to their colleges. Most of them are studying medicine in China. The students have been demanding that Beijing allow them to rejoin their colleges, reported NDTV. Over 23,000 Indian students are currently enrolled in Chinese universities.
Hua told the media that Covid-19 is still spreading in many parts of the world. "So, in this context, the Chinese government has no choice but to take a lot of prevention and control measures". She added that China is adjusting its measures in accordance with the evolving situation to ensure a safe, healthy, and orderly flow of Chinese and foreign travellers.
"I want to stress that China's inbound prevention and control measures are applied to all inbound travellers, including its own citizens," said Hua.
Indian ambassador to China Vikram Misri had criticised China's prolonged travel restrictions last week. He said that India is disappointed to see the unscientific approach to the problems faced by Indian students, businessmen, marine crew, and exporters.