India-China direct flights to resume after 5 years, PM Modi confirms in talks with Xi Jinping

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced the resumption of direct flights between India and China after more than five years, during his bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin. The flights, halted since early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will restart as part of measures agreed upon by both sides to normalise ties.

Mr. Modi said that peace and stability have been maintained along the border following disengagement and added that India is committed to taking forward relations based on “mutual trust, respect and sensitivity.” He also announced the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and underlined that “the interests of 2.8 billion people are linked to our cooperation.” The Prime Minister congratulated Mr. Xi on China’s successful presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

In his remarks, President Xi Jinping said, “It is vital to be friends, a good neighbour, and the Dragon and the Elephant to come together.” He noted that 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and China and stressed that both nations should approach their relationship from a “strategic and long-term perspective” while working together for multilateralism, a multipolar world, and peace in Asia and beyond.

The announcement on direct flights comes less than two weeks after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India and held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Both sides had agreed on reopening border trade, maintaining peace along the frontier, and resuming direct air connectivity. These measures were described as part of efforts to create a “stable, cooperative and forward-looking” relationship.

Relations between India and China had been under severe strain following the June 2020 clashes in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, where 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops were killed. Since then, a series of military and diplomatic engagements led to partial disengagement at several points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The decision to resume flights and the Yatra marks one of the most significant confidence-building steps since the crisis.