New Delhi — India and China agreed on Tuesday to resume direct flights and step up trade and investment flows as the neighbours rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 border clash.
The Asian giants are cautiously strengthening relations against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy with a series of high-level bilateral visits.
The latest statements came at the end of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s two-day visit to New Delhi for the 24th round of talks with India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, to resolve their decades-old border dispute.
The border talks covered issues related to pulling back troops both countries have amassed on their Himalayan border, delimitation of borders and boundary affairs, the Indian foreign ministry said, but did not elaborate.
The talks appeared to have made no major breakthrough on those issues and Beijing said both countries agreed to meet again in China in 2026. Still, it said the two countries would resume direct flights and boost trade and investment, along with smooth facilitation of visas.
Direct flights have been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. No date was given for the resumption.
“Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X after meeting Wang.
Modi is scheduled to travel to China at the end of August for the summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation — his first visit to the country in more than seven years.
Tibet dam
A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry said Wang told Doval that “the stable and healthy development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries’ people”.
The two sides “should enhance mutual trust through dialogues and expand co-operation”, Wang said, and should aim for consensus in areas such as border control and demarcation negotiations.
India said foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had in his talks with Wang underlined India’s concerns regarding the mega dam China is building on the Yarlung Zangbo river in Tibet.
Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra as it flows into India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions of people.
The dam would have implications for states further downstream and the need for “utmost transparency” was strongly underlined, New Delhi said.
Chinese officials say hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major effect on the environment or on downstream water supplies, but India and Bangladesh have nevertheless raised concerns.
Earlier on Tuesday, an Indian source said Wang had assured Jaishankar that Beijing was addressing three main Indian concerns: the need for fertilisers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines.
The Indian foreign and mines ministries and China’s commerce ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.