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Direct flights between India and China have resumed as relations between the countries appear to be thawing.<\/p>\n
IndiGo flight 6E 1703 from Kolkata landed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Monday, carrying about 180 passengers.<\/p>\n
Flights between the two countries were first suspended during the Covid pandemic in early 2020 and did not restart after a deadly clash in a disputed Himalayan border area<\/a> escalated tensions.<\/p>\n But the two countries have been steadily rebuilding relations, and last year they reached a landmark agreement on border patrols<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Indian government had said the resumption of direct flights would “facilitate people-to-people contact” and help “the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges” in a statement announcing the development<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n It is part of a series of developments that indicate a gradual normalisation of ties between the neighbours.<\/p>\n In August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China for the first time in seven years, meeting President Xi Jinping<\/a> on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. Earlier that month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had visited India and discussed “de-escalation, delimitation and boundary affairs” with officials in Delhi.<\/p>\n In July, India had also restarted issuing visas for Chinese tourists<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n