China accused India of kicking out journalists with its official news agency and said it would have to take corresponding measures.

India recently asked journalists from Xinhua News Agency to leave the country by the end of March, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Thursday at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

“The Chinese embassy and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have expressed concerns to the Indian side, but the Indian side did not reply or correct their mistake,” Mao said. She added that “China has to take corresponding countermeasures” but didn’t say what that would entail.

India has not discriminated against journalists from China, officials at New Delhi’s Ministry of External Affairs said, asking not to be named discussing the sensitive issue. Any impression otherwise is false, they added.

The Hindu newspaper reported Tuesday that Beijing told two Indian journalists that they would be unable to return to China. Two other Indian reporters were apparently told China was considering taking steps in response to what it saw as unfair treatment of Chinese reporters.

China wants more and longer visas for its journalists, The Hindu said.

India and China have been locked in a border dispute for four decades and fought a deadly skirmish in 2020. Earlier this week, India rejected attempts by China to claim some parts of Indian-controlled territories.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has also barred hundreds of services from Chinese tech giants and worked to position India to replace China in global supply chains. Beijing is also locked in a dispute with the US over journalist visas.

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(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Apr 6, 2023 4:04 PM IST