New Delhi: India and China are in an “advanced stage” of negotiations to resume direct flight services between the two countries soon, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The development comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin later this month to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The move to resume the flight services between the two Asian giants also came amid some strain in India’s ties with the US over President Donald Trump slapping a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods.
New Delhi and Beijing are moving forward in a “positive” trajectory to restart trade through four border transit points, the people cited above said.
The direct flight services between India and China were suspended in 2020 following the Covid-19 pandemic. The air connectivity remained suspended in view of the eastern Ladakh border row.
The people cited above said the Indian and Chinese negotiators are looking at firming up a new air services agreement to resume the flight services.
But if that is not materialised, then the two sides are set to resume the services using the existing air services framework.
It is learnt that Air India has been sounded out about the possible resumption of flight services between India and China.
In the last few months, India and China have initiated a number of measures to repair the bilateral ties that had severely nosedived following the deadly clashes between the two militaries in June 2020.
Last month, India announced the resumption of issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.
The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020, and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between India and China.
The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised October 21 last year.
After a gap of over seven years, Modi is expected to travel to China.
As per the plan, the prime minister will embark on a visit to Japan around August 29, and after concluding the trip, he will travel to Tianjin for the SCO summit to be held August 31 and September 1.
There is no official confirmation yet on Modi’s two-nation visit to Japan and China.
Modi last visited China in June, 2018 to attend the SCO summit. President Xi Jinping visited India in October 2019 for the second “informal summit”.
