India, China agree to resume direct flights, boost business links
The Asian giants are cautiously strengthening ties against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's unpredictable foreign policy, staging 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 Indian National Security (NSA) Advisor 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, without elaborating.
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.
But it also 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 their 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 this month to take part in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - his first visit to the country in more than seven years.
A readout 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 cooperation," Wang said, and should aim for consensus in areas such as border control and demarcation negotiations.
India said Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had underlined in his talks with Wang India's concerns with regard to 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.
The dam would have implications for lower riparian states and the need for "utmost transparency" was strongly underlined, New Delhi said.
Chinese officials say hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major impact 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 key 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Trump tariffs take the gloss off Estee Lauder sales: Cosmetics giant braced for £74m hit
Estee Lauder said it will take a £74m annual hit from tariffs as sales plunged amid a slowdown in the US. Shares in the cosmetics giant fell almost 5 per cent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange as chief executive Stephane de La Faverie warned of 'continued volatility'. Sales fell 8 per cent to £10.6billion in the year to June 30 as subdued demand among American and Chinese consumers took its toll. And it recorded an annual loss of £584million, having made a £721million profit the year before. Earlier this year, the company said it was cutting 7,000 jobs as part of a cost-saving drive as it braced for the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs. The industry has been rocked by the trade war, with many firms making their goods in countries subject to heavy US tariffs. In May, Estee Lauder – where Hollywood actress Ana de Armas (pictured centre) is a global ambassador – said it was planning to source more products in China to avoid importing from the US.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
India successfully tests nuclear-capable missile able to reach deep into China
India has said that it has successfully test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile which, when operational, should be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to any part of China. The Agni-5 missile was successfully launched in India's eastern Odisha state on Wednesday, and authorities said it 'validated all operational and technical parameters'. India and China, the world's two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for influence across south Asia and relations plummeted in 2020 after a deadly border clash. India is also part of the Quad security alliance with the US, Australia and Japan, which is seen as a counter to China. India's bitter rival, Pakistan, has nuclear weapons as well and the two countries came to close to war in May after militants killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, an attack New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied any involvement. Caught in global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by Donald Trump's tariff war, Delhi and Beijing have moved to mend ties. Last October, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, met the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia. Modi is expected to make his first visit to China since 2018 later this month to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – a regional security bloc. Ties between New Delhi and Washington, meanwhile, have been strained by Trump's ultimatum that India end its purchases of Russian oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow as it wages its military offensive in Ukraine. The US says it will double new import tariffs on India from 25% to 50% by 27 August if New Delhi does not switch crude suppliers. The Agni-5 is one of a number of indigenously produced short- and medium-range Indian ballistic missiles aimed at boosting its defence posture against Pakistan, as well as China.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Peru's gold exports to China through June overtake all 2024
LIMA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Peru's gold exports to China surged in the first half of 2025 to surpass shipments from all of last year, according to government data released in August. Global appetite for gold is rising amid trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Prices for the metal, a safe haven asset whose value typically rises in times of turmoil, hit record levels last year. Peru's gold exports to China reached $947 million in the first half of 2025, up nearly four times from the same period last year. That figure has been steadily rising. Peru exported $885 million in gold to China in 2024, a 410% increase from the $173 million in exports registered in 2023. Peru's global gold exports surged 46% year-on-year in the six months through June, to total $8.57 billion. China ranks fourth as the biggest gold buyer from Peru, after Canada, India and Switzerland. Local production of the precious metal has grown in recent years, along with concern that increasing amounts come from illegal mines that do not meet environmental regulations and are fueling violence.
