🔗 Share this article

India's foreign ministry has stated that direct flights between the South Asian nation and the Asian giant will recommence this month, marking a further move towards the gradual normalization of relations between the two countries.

Non-stop services were suspended between the two nations since the year 2020, following lethal border skirmishes along their shared Himalayan border.

However over the past year or so, the Indian and Chinese governments have been striving for mending relations, including taking measures to reduce hostilities.

On Thursday, India's biggest budget airline confirmed that it would restart direct flights between the cities of the capital of West Bengal and a major Chinese hub from 26 October.

In a statement published on Thursday, India's foreign ministry remarked that the restarting of air services would "further facilitate cultural and personal exchanges" between the nations and contribute towards "step-by-step restoration of mutual engagements."

India and China share an ill-defined border that is more than 2,100 miles long and have competing sovereignty demands.

In 2020, soldiers from both sides fought at the Galwan Valley, leaving at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese military personnel killed.

It was the first fatal confrontation between the both nations since the mid-1970s and led to a halt in diplomatic engagement.

Nevertheless over the past year or so, Beijing and Delhi have been taking measures to progressively restore the damaged ties.

Senior diplomats from the both countries have held numerous dialogues and meetings.

In October last year, the two nations agreed on joint surveillance measures to ease hostilities along the disputed Himalayan border.

In the current year, China began allowing Indian pilgrims to visit some holy locations in what it calls the Tibet region, while the Indian authorities resumed visa services to Chinese tourists and agreed to restart negotiations to open border trade through specific routes.

India's souring relationship with the United States over punishing tariffs has also acted as a catalyst to Delhi-Beijing ties.

In August, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Delhi, where he said that India and China should see each other as "collaborators" rather than "rivals."

Later the same month, Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong labeled the US a "bully" for imposing steep tariffs on multiple nations.

In the same month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the People's Republic for the first time in seven years for the SCO defence summit, where he also met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit, and the two re-iterated their commitment towards restoring bilateral relations.