India, China agree to restart direct flights as ties improve at SCO Summit
India and China are set to resume direct flights for the first time since the pandemic, in signs of a thaw in relation amid rising global trade uncertainties.
The plan was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of theShanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin on Sunday. This is his first visit to China in seven years.
India-China ties are on an upswing at a time whenUS tariffs have added to economic uncertainties in the world’s two most populous nations. In August, India and China agreed to facilitate bilateral trade and investments. Before that in July, India allowed tourist visas for Chinese nationals after years of curbs. India and China had first agreed in January to resume direct flights and once more in June, but progress was slow.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also recently met Modi, who hailed the steady progress in ties as one “guided by respect for each other’s interests”.
The meetings follow US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose punitive 50% tariffs on Indian goods over its continuing purchase of Russian oil. Although, China and the US have adhered to a trade truce and Trump extended the pause on higher tariffs for Chinese goods for another 90 days.
India’s largest carrier, IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.), has already expressed its willingness to start flights between the two countries once services are cleared. The other large local carrier, Air India Ltd., is expected to resume flying these routes as well.
Direct passenger flights between India and China were suspended after the pandemic. The connection never resumed after diplomatic relations between the two countries hit a low point in 2020 following border clashes. Travelers from the two neighboring countries currently use hubs like Hong Kong or Singapore.