Hong Kong (CNN) — China and India have agreed to resume direct commercial flights for the first time in five years, in the latest sign of warming relations between the world’s two most populous countries.
Flights between India and mainland China were suspended at the onset of the Covid pandemic in early 2020, and remained halted following subsequent political tensions.
The announcement on Monday came as India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the two countries had reached a consensus “in principle to resume direct air services,” with officials expected to hammer out details “at an early date.”
Confirming the development, China’s Foreign Ministry also said it had agreed to reopen Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in western Tibet to Indian pilgrims this year.
The two destinations are considered sacred in the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Bon faiths and are popular pilgrimage sites.
Behind the scenes
Months after flights were suspended due to the pandemic, soldiers from the two countries fought a bloody hand-to-hand battle at their disputed border high in the Himalayas, in which at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed.
Both India and China maintain a significant military presence along their 2,100-mile (3,379-kilometer) de facto border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which has never been clearly defined and has remained a source of friction since a war between the two countries in 1962.
The June 2020 clash was followed by a process of disengagement and border talks, including an agreement on military patrolling. But points of friction have remained in other areas.
The two countries have sought to further ease tensions in recent months, following a rare meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia this past October.
Currently, there are direct passenger flights between several Indian cities and Hong Kong, but not mainland China.
Tourists look forward
The news of the agreement to resume commercial flights prompted some to share their enthusiasm on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
One Chinese netizen said he had bought a flight ticket to India in February 2020 — during the early days of the pandemic. But just before he was due to depart, both his flight and visa were canceled, he said.
India suspended all tourist visas early into the pandemic in a bid to halt the spread of Covid-19.
“The wait lasted for five years… Must go to India,” he wrote in a post on Monday.
Another Chinese netizen said he hoped to attend the Indian festival of Holi, also known as the festival of colors, which involves people donning simple, inexpensive clothes and taking to the streets to smear each other with colored powder and engage in mass water fights.
“Is there a chance to make it to Holi in March?” he wondered.
Passengers were previously able to travel directly between Beijing and New Delhi within seven hours. Presently, those wishing to travel between the two capitals are required to transit at destinations such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur adding between six and 10 hours to the journey.
Anayat Ali, an Indian PhD student in Shanghai told CNN he “welcomed the news enthusiastically.”
Ali said he and other Indian students in China were sick of the long layovers and high ticket prices every time they wanted to return home.
“With direct flights, I can visit family more frequently, reduce expenses and avoid the stress of layovers,” he said.
Chinese authorities and airlines had been asking India’s civil aviation authorities to re-establish direct flights, but New Delhi had resisted the calls, Reuters reported last June.
But the drawn-out negotiations have prompted some on Weibo to express doubts about the possibility of visiting India anytime soon.
“It’s an agreement in principle,” one of them noted on Monday.
from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
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