Direct flights resume after five-year halt amid thaw in relations between India and China

India and China Are resumption of direct flights Relations between the two countries improved on Sunday after a five-year suspension.

Direct flights between the two countries were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and have not resumed as Beijing and New Delhi remained at prolonged standoff following border clashes.

India’s largest commercial carrier, IndiGo, will operate the first daily flight from India’s eastern city of Kolkata to Guangzhou in the mainland. ChinaThe flight is scheduled to depart at 10 pm Indian time.

“Direct flights between China and India are now a reality,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Yu Jing wrote on Twitter.

According to the report, additional flight services from India’s capital New Delhi to Shanghai and Guangzhou are scheduled to start in November.

The Indian Embassy in China said earlier this month that the restoration is part of the Indian government’s “vision of gradually normalizing relations between India and China”. New Delhi said the resumption of flights would promote “people-to-people contacts”.

The resumption follows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in September for the first time in seven years to attend a regional security forum, part of efforts by the two countries to normalize ties.

Relations between China and India declined in 2020 after a clash between security forces along a disputed border in the Himalayan mountains. Four Chinese soldiers and 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the worst violence in decades, bringing high-level political engagements to a halt.

In October last year, both sides had reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control. This year, both countries resumed the Manasarovar Yatra and lifted the visa ban for tourists.

Thawing in relations between two Asian giants Was aided by the US President donald trumpis cleaning Tariff on India in response to oil purchases from Russia and Washington’s long-running trade war with China.

since i was killed TariffNew Delhi has sought to diversify into markets such as China, Latin America and the Middle East. New Delhi’s imports from China rose to more than $11 billion last month, up more than 16 percent from September 2024, according to India’s commerce ministry.