China and India to restart direct flights after more than five years
Resumption comes as India’s foreign minister makes first trip to Beijing since 2020, meets counterpart Wang Yi and Vice-President Han Zheng
China and India will restart mutual personnel travel and direct flights after more than five years of suspension, the two countries’ foreign ministers agreed in Beijing on Monday.
“The two sides agreed to take additional practical steps, including travel to each other’s country and direct flight connectivity, for facilitating people-to-people exchanges,” according to a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
However, a readout from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention direct flights.
Transit between the world’s most populous neighbours has been cut off since 2020, first because of the Covid-19 pandemic and then a deadly border clash in the Himalayas.
The announcement came as India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is in Beijing, his first trip to China since 2020.
The visit came as bilateral ties made some recoveries from the border incidents but new tensions emerged over succession plans for the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has lived in exile in India since 1959.
During discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Jaishankar supported continued efforts towards de-escalation and border management.