Beijing says it will issue visas in India, but adds a vaccine clause

New Delhi, Mar 16: China will begin issuing visas to foreigners, but only after they have taken a Chinese made COVID-19, a statement by the Chinese foreign embassy in New Delhi said.

The statement suggests that the Chinese vaccine rule was applicable for people intending to travel to China for business, work or meet relatives.

The Chinese embassy statement did not specify whether the easing of the process applies to students.

The new rule would make it difficult for Indians to get visas as New Delhi has not approved the use of the China made vaccine in the country. There are no direct flights between the two countries at present.

The rule comes at a time when China has been promoting its vaccine shots. It has administered 65 million vaccine doses at home. However due to the lack of transparency about the clinical trial data, Beijing has not elicited an enthusiastic response from many countries.

On Monday China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters that the foreign vaccine producers could file a request with the authorities concerned in China for a decision. As of now China has not allowed vaccines made in other countries.