China indefinitely suspended air travel from India on Thursday, preventing non-Chinese travelers from entering the country following a spike in Covid-19 cases on the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flight last week.
While commercial flights between India and China have not been resumed, Air India has been operating special repatriation flights under the VBM mechanism to different Chinese cities.
The new measure means that four scheduled VBM flights each week starting Nov. 13 will have to be rescheduled.
Beijing made similar announcements about banning the entry of non-Chinese visitors from Britain, Belgium, and the Philippines, and required travelers from the US, France, and Germany to submit additional health test results as part of the measures to counter the resurgence of coronavirus cases. the world.
The new suspension order was a partial reversal of a September 28 easing, when Beijing allowed all foreigners with valid residence permits to enter. China had banned foreigners at the end of March.
In New Delhi, people familiar with the events said that the Chinese government’s announcement indicated that the measure was a temporary action and that further changes could be expected in a timely manner. They said that the Indian side is in contact with the Chinese side to facilitate essential Indians travel to and from China.
Officials in Beijing said more than 1,500 Indians had registered to return to China, and Beijing’s announcement had created uncertainty.
China’s Foreign Ministry defended the decision, saying it was a “reasonable and fair” measure to tackle the pandemic. “China is building on the practices of many countries and adjusting its handling of the entry of relevant people into China based on the changing situation of the pandemic,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular news conference.
The India-specific announcement said that the Chinese embassy in New Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata would not stamp the health certificates provided by normal passport holders.
“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is hereby announced that China has decided to temporarily suspend the entry into China of foreign nationals in India who hold valid Chinese visas or residence permits,” the government said in its announcement.
“The Chinese Embassy / Consulates in India will not stamp Health Declaration Forms for holders of the aforementioned visa or residence permit categories,” he added. The statement clarified that foreigners holding “China diplomatic, service, courtesy and C visas” would not be affected by the measure.
“Foreigners with humanitarian or emergency needs to visit China, can send a visa application to the Chinese Embassy / Consulates in India. Entry to China with visas issued after November 3, 2020 is not affected, ”the statement said.
“The suspension is a temporary measure (sic) that China has to adopt to deal with the current pandemic. China will make further adjustments and announce in accordance with the ongoing pandemic situation in a timely manner, ”he added.
Twenty-three Indians on a VBM flight from New Delhi to the central Chinese city of Wuhan last Friday tested positive for Covid-19, of whom 19 were asymptomatic. The flight recorded the highest number of infected people on a repatriation flight from India to China so far.
The large number of cases, and the high incidence of the disease in India, prompted the Chinese embassy in New Delhi to change the pre-boarding testing rules for Indians coming to China on special flights from November 7.
The people quoted above said that Chinese authorities had acted only to temporarily suspend existing visas and that future visa applications had not been banned. “Visas issued after November 3 are valid for travel to China and the measure is not specific to India. Similar measures have been announced for several other countries, ”said one person.
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