China-India direct flights have resumed after a four-year halt amid efforts to restore relations
India and China will start operating direct flights again this month in an attempt to gradually restore damaged diplomatic and business relations.
Direct passenger flights between China and India will start operating again later this month after a four-year break due to deadly border clashes in 2020.
India’s foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that the move will allow the two Asian giants “gradually normalize bilateral exchanges” and “further facilitate people-to-people contact.”
IndiGo, India’s top low-cost carrier, will start operating direct flights between Guangzhou and Kolkata on October 26. Additional paths are expected to emerge as ties deepen.
Direct flights were halted after troops from both sides engaged in combat in the Galwan Valley along the Himalayan border in June 2020, killing at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers. The fiercest fight in almost 40 years seriously strained bilateral relations.
Now, both administrations are working hard to ease tensions. Along with symbolic acts, there have been multiple rounds of diplomatic and military consultations. While China recently allowed Indian pilgrims to enter areas it classifies as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, India recently agreed to start border trade negotiations and restarted offering visa services for Chinese tourists.
Additionally, the push for normalization has been evident at the governmental level. When President Xi Jinping visited China in August for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with him. It was agreed that the leaders would change the relationship from one of confrontation to cooperation.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi also traveled to Delhi earlier this year and urged the two nations to view each other as “partners, not adversaries.” Beijing’s ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, in the meantime, said that the US was “bullying” countries with excessive tariffs, a stance that was seen as more in line with India’s trade complaints with Washington.
It is believed that restoring aircraft connection will improve trust by demonstrating that Beijing and New Delhi are making efforts to resume commercial, diplomatic relations, and people-to-people interactions in spite of unresolved border disputes.
