The announcement was made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, during Modi’s first visit to China in seven years.
Without specifying the exact date for the resumption of air traffic between India and China, Modi pledged to work with Xi Jinping to rebuild political relations between the two countries based on “mutual trust, respect, and sensitivity.”
According to statements collected by the Indian newspaper Times of India, the Prime Minister spoke positively of “progress achieved on several fronts for peace and relations following the withdrawal of border posts.”
Since mid-August, there had been rumors that India and China were preparing to resume direct flights as early as September, after they were suspended during the covid-19 pandemic and never reinstated due to tensions in diplomatic relations between the two countries.
