India, China to resume direct flights, share data on rivers; focus to be on ‘people-centric engagements', says MEA

Indian Express

19 hours ago

As India on Friday sends off the first batch of 50 pilgrims for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which has resumed after a gap of six years, New Delhi and Beijing are now looking to restart direct air services, taking steps towards visa facilitation and also sharing data on transnational rivers.
After a meeting between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who is visiting New Delhi, the two sides reviewed developments in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Beijing in January, and 'agreed to continue efforts to stabilise and rebuild ties with a focus on people-centric engagements,' as per a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday.
After announcing that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra will resume from June this year, the government had last month selected 750 people from a pool of over 5,500 applicants for the yatra to be held between June and August this year. The pilgrims will travel in five batches of 50 yatris each via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches of 50 each via the Nathu La route.
The resumption of the yatra from June was first announced on April 26, days after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, as a step towards normalising India-China ties after six years of hiatus due to the border standoff.
The yatra was on top of India's wishlist since the talks to normalise the ties began in November last year. As per the MEA statement on Friday, Misri appreciated the Chinese side's cooperation in facilitating the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year, and discussed next steps towards normalising ties, which include data sharing on rivers and resumption of direct flights.
'The Foreign Secretary also referred to the discussions during the April 2025 meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism on transboundary rivers and expressed hope for progress on the resumption of hydrological data sharing and other areas of cooperation,' the MEA said.
The two sides agreed to expedite the steps involved in resuming direct air services between the two countries, and towards the early conclusion of an updated Air Services Agreement. The MEA further noted that both sides agreed to take practical steps for visa facilitation and promote exchanges between media and think tanks.
They also positively assessed the activities planned to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, and agreed to facilitate the same, the MEA said.
In this context of strengthening bilateral ties, India on Thursday said it is in touch with the Chinese side, seeking predictability in the supply of rare earth metals, which had been put under the export controls regime by the Xi administration.
'We are in touch with the Chinese side, both here in Delhi as well as in Beijing to bring predictability in the supply chain for trade, consistent with international practices,' MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in the weekly briefing, when asked about India's engagement with China on rare earth.
'The Chinese ministry of commerce and general administration of customs in early April…had announced a decision to implement export controls on certain rare earth related items,' Jaiswal said.
Days ago, the US reached a 'deal' with China following intense trade negotiations. As part of the deal, America, according to President Donald Trump, will get rare earth supplies from China.
China on Thursday hinted at holding talks with India over its restrictions on the export of rare earth materials, saying it is willing to enhance dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries to keep industrial supply chains stable. Their recent restrictions on the exports of key metals caused disruption in the manufacturing of automobiles and semiconductor chips in a host of countries, including India.
On the future of India-China ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said earlier this week, 'Both our powers are rising quickly, so finding balance is a complex process. Our relations have gone through a difficult period since the 2020 military clash in the Himalayas. Many of our exchanges were suspended.'
'Both sides think relations can improve step by step. We have discussed some measures, and others are under consideration, like the resumption of direct flights suspended since Covid-19,' he said.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More