Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

Positive signs for Indian students to return China for study have been flickering in recent days. The latest development was the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China has made positive progress in welcoming back stranded foreign students, including Indian students, back to study in China, and that relevant government bodies are keeping in close contact, so that the first batch of India students can come back to study in China as soon as possible. 

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin,  made the remarks at a routine press conference on Thursday when asked about the progress of Indian students returning to China for study.

In another positive sign, when attending the World Economic Forum Special Virtual Dialogue with Global Business Leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang promised to relax restrictions on international travel, including facilitating people-to-people exchanges.

An Indian student who studied at Youjiang University in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for a medical science degree and prefers to be referred by his given name Summer, was very excited to hear about China's positive signs on welcoming Indian students back to China. "That's great. I hope we can get a visa soon," Summer told the Global Times via social media on Thursday.

When asked about issuing visas to the stranded students, and about when direct flights between China and India would resume, Wang said on July 15 that positive progress has been made on facilitating the return of Indian students to China, and the departments in charge of this matter from both sides will continue to work closely with each other for the early return of the first batch of Indian students who wish to resume their studies in China. 

Summer told the Global Times on Thursday that because many Indian students studying in China are medical students, India's national medical commission would not recognize their medical degrees if they are taking only online classes.

Indian news agency PTI said some 23,000 Indian students, mostly studying medicine, have been stranded in India since December 2019 due to the COVID-19 epidemic. 

From the positive response, either by the Chinese premier or China's Foreign Ministry, we can see that the eagerness to return to China for study among Indian students has been well heard by the Chinese government, and positive adjustments have been gradually made, Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

Cities in China have just shortened quarantine periods for international arrivals at entry points, and further opening-up is also being explored, Lin said. He advised students in India to be more patient for good news to come.