Covid-19: China to evacuate its citizens from India

• India was one of the first countries to evacuate its nationals mainly students from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, in January-February
• The evacuation also comes at a time of high military tensions between India and China with Chinese troops transgressing into Indian territory

NEW DELHI : China on Monday announced it would evacuate its citizens, including students, tourists and businessmen, from India who are facing "difficulties" in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A notice on the Chinese embassy website said Monday said those who wanted to return home could book tickets in special flights. The move to evacuate Chinese citizens from India comes in the wake of the country entering the list of top 10 worst hit nations by the novel coronavirus pandemic with 150,000 infections and 4,100 deaths. The disease which first surfaced in China;s Hubei province has now infected 5.4 million people worldwide and caused more than 345,000 deaths, according to the US based Johns Hopkins University tracker of the disease.

Incidentally, India was one of the first countries to evacuate its nationals mainly students from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, in January-February.

The evacuation also comes at a time of high military tensions between India and China with Chinese troops transgressing into Indian territory at at least three places in Ladakh in the western sector and one place in Sikkim in the eastern sector this month. This has triggered speculation in some quarters of a possible full scale military attack by China against India. There was no comment on the possibility of such an eventuality. Two people familiar with the matter pointed out that some 60,000 foreign nationals in India had been evacuated by their respective countries by special flights till last week.

Despite the tensions on the border, China’s ambassador to India, Sun Weidong in a Twitter post on Monday evening announced a second round of “ donations from JackMa Foundation ＆Alibaba Foundation, including ventilators, PPE & other medical supplies arrived in Delhi. China will continue to support India in the fight against #COVID19."

“Solidarity & cooperation are the most effective weapons against the virus," Sun said in his post.

According to Chinese embassy notice, those Chinese nationals opting to return home would have to accept all quarantine and epidemic prevention arrangements ahead of boarding the flight as well as after entering China.

Citizens wanting to return to China have to register by the morning of 27 May, the notice said, but did not give any indication as to when the special flights were expected to start from.

People under treatment for covid-19, those who were in contact with covid-19 patients or those having symptoms like fever and cough in the last 14 days should not take the special flights, it said.

"Through the unified arrangement of the ministry of foreign affairs and relevant departments, the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in India will assist international students in India, tourists, temporary business visitors who have difficulties and are in urgent need to take a temporary flight back home to China," the notice said.

The notice suggested that people from some other countries could also be evacuated. The cost of flight ticket and quarantine in China will have to be borne by the evacuees, it said.

"If your body temperature exceeds 37.3 degrees (inclusive) before boarding or if you have suspected symptoms, you will be refused boarding by the airline," the notice said.

It also warned applicants not to hide their medical history.

“Once a passenger who conceals his illness and contact history or finds that he has taken antipyretics and other inhibitory drugs during quarantine inspection is found, he will be held liable for the crime of endangering public safety," the notice added.

The number of Chinese nationals in India at the moment was not immediately clear but Chinese tourists are known to visit Buddhist tourist sites in India. According to a parliament question last year, Chinese nationals were the largest group among India's neighbours to apply for an employment visa to work in India. A total of 1,089 Chinese nationals had registered on a work visa in 2019 with Maharashtra and Karnataka having the largest numbers of Chinese nationals.

According to Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor of Chinese Studies at the New Delhi based Jawaharlal Nehru University, China had previously not evacuated its nationals from India as Beijing had been worried about possible re-introduction of the virus among its people. "Now that thats under control, I think they are going ahead with the evacuation," he said.

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