KOLKATA – India and China resumed direct commercial flights on Sunday after a five-year suspension, marking a cautious yet significant step toward normalising relations between Asia’s two most populous nations. The resumption, initially launched with an IndiGo Airlines service from Kolkata to Guangzhou, comes after years of diplomatic chill that followed a deadly 2020 Himalayan border clash. Both governments hailed the move as a stride toward rebuilding trust and strengthening “people-to-people contact”.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the flights would “aid the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges” and boost trade and travel. Officials confirmed additional direct routes linking New Delhi with Shanghai and Guangzhou will begin in November. Business leaders in Kolkata welcomed the development. “The direct air link will reduce logistics and transit time,” said Rajeev Singh, chief of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. Kolkata, with its historic Chinatown district, has maintained cultural links with China since the colonial era, and Indo-Chinese cuisine remains a culinary trademark in the city’s identity.
Passengers expressed optimism about renewed connectivity. “It’s great news for families who have relatives in China,” said Chen Khoi Kui, a community leader in Tangra. “This will open doors for tourism and business travel.”The resumption reflects a broader thaw following high-level meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Russia last year and again in China this August. Trade flows have rebounded sharply, with India’s imports from China hitting US$11 billion in September, up 16% from a year earlier, while exports rose 34% to US$1.47 billion.
Direct flights had been halted during the Covid-19 pandemic, disrupting nearly 500 monthly services. Relations soured further after the 2020 clash in the Galwan Valley, which killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers. In its aftermath, New Delhi banned several Chinese apps and tightened curbs on investments, while deepening cooperation with the U.S.-led Quad alliance involving Japan and Australia.
However, recent symbolic gestures have hinted at improved sentiment. Soldiers on both sides exchanged sweets during Diwali, which China’s embassy in New Delhi described as “a goodwill gesture”. The warming ties come even as India’s relations with Washington face headwinds following President Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on Indian exports, and accusations from his administration that New Delhi is indirectly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine through oil purchases.
Despite renewed optimism, analysts caution the path forward remains uncertain. The Indian Express, reflecting on Modi’s August meeting with Xi, said better ties with Beijing “send an appropriate signal” to Washington but warned that “managing an increasingly assertive China remains India’s long-term challenge.”