The expulsions of three Chinese journalists from India are "very inappropriate" and "harm the overall Sino-Indian relationship", according to experts.

Hindustan Times reported that New Delhi had expelled three Xinhua News Agency journalists after refusing to renew their work visas. No official reason was given.

The three are the head of Xinhua's New Delhi bureau Wu Qiang, Lu Tang, who manages the Mumbai bureau, and a Mumbai-based reporter She Yonggang. They were ordered to leave India by Sunday and banned from re-entry.

Neither Xinhua nor the Chinese Foreign Ministry has commented on the issue to date.

The decision triggered controversy in Chinese media circles, with sources saying some Indian reporters in Beijing fear the Chinese government will carry out tit-for-tat expulsions. Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher of Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said: "The move is an unprecedented and very inappropriate one. I think both governments should downplay this issue in a rational way to avoid negative effects on the Sino-Indian relationship."

The Hindu newspaper reported that the expulsions came after China's refusal to back India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group last month.

Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said taking revenge against China for declining to back Indian membership of the NSG could not be an excuse for the expulsions.

"Blaming China for not joining the NSG is groundless," Fu said.

"It is well known that membership of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is a necessary qualification for acceptance of NSG members. India is not an NPT member. Thus, it seeking direct membership of the NSG is unrealistic.

"I think the media and the public should not make a fuss over a trifling incident like this. I am confident that the Chinese and Indian governments can work out a way to solve this problem in the near future."

Jia said, "China and India are both important regional powers and it is expected that Beijing and New Delhi can solve their differences through negotiations, not in an inappropriate way like this."

(China Daily 07/26/2016 page3)