India, China to resume direct flights after 5 years as relations thaw
Key Takeaways
- India and China will resume direct flights between select cities this month after a five-year suspension.
- The resumption signals a thaw in relations, which had been frozen due to border tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- This normalization effort is taking place amid aggressive trade policies and stiff tariffs imposed by the US administration under Donald Trump.
- The move follows a recent meeting between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping where they agreed to be development partners, not rivals.
- Direct flights were initially suspended in 2020 following deadly clashes along the disputed Himalayan border.
India and China have announced plans to resume direct flights between some of their cities by late October, ending a five-year suspension that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and was exacerbated by prolonged border tensions. This decision underscores a concerted effort by both governments toward the gradual normalization of bilateral relations, particularly in the context of challenging external pressures. The timing coincides with the aggressive trade policies enacted by the US President Donald Trump administration, including steep tariffs on Indian imports. A key catalyst for this thaw was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, where he and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to frame their relationship as one of development partnership rather than rivalry. The initial flight resumption will see carriers like IndiGo restarting routes, such as Kolkata to Guangzhou, signaling a potential strengthening of trade ties amid global tariff uncertainty fueled by US actions.
