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China's Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport confirmed on Friday that direct flights between India and China will resume later this month, ending a more than five-year suspension and signalling a cautious thaw in bilateral ties. The announcement follows India's decision and IndiGo's plan to start daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from October 26, marking the first such connection since 2020. The airport added that it would encourage the opening of more direct routes, including Guangzhou-Delhi. The move comes a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China for the SCO summit, where he and President Xi Jinping discussed strengthening trade ties and easing tensions after years of strained relations.
China's Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 600004.SS confirmed on Friday that direct flights between India and China will resume later this month, ending a halt of more than five years and signalling a cautious easing of bilateral tensions. Advertisement
There have been no direct flights between China and India since 2020, even though China is India's biggest bilateral trade partner.
India's foreign ministry earlier announced the move on Thursday, followed by a statement from India's largest carrier IndiGo INGL.NS that it would begin daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou on October 26.
In a statement on Friday night, the state-backed Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport noted the IndiGo announcement - the first comment on the move by Chinese authorities.
"In the future, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport will also actively promote airlines to open direct routes such as Guangzhou and Delhi," the statement said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China a month ago for the first time in seven years to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation regional security bloc.
Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that India and China were development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to strengthen trade ties amid global tariff uncertainty.
Modi also conveyed India's commitment to improving ties and raised concerns about its widening trade deficit with China, which stands at nearly $99.2 billion.
He emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability along their disputed border, where a clash in 2020 triggered a five-year military standoff.
Source: Reuters
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