State-owned China Eastern Airlines will resume direct flights between Shanghai and Delhi from November 9, marking the restoration of air links between China and India after a five-year suspension, the airline’s website shows. The resumption comes amid a diplomatic thaw between the two Asian giants, largely influenced by aggressive trade policies pursued by the United States.

According to the airline’s online booking platform, the flights will operate three times a week — on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. China Eastern Airlines did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Earlier this month, India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced that commercial flights between the neighbouring countries would restart after a five-year freeze. The announcement followed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in over seven years for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, where both sides discussed boosting trade ties. Modi also raised concerns about India’s growing bilateral trade deficit with China.

India and China had suspended direct flights in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The services did not resume after deadly clashes along their Himalayan border later that year, which left four Chinese and 20 Indian soldiers dead — the worst violence between the neighbours in decades.

India’s largest airline, IndiGo, had previously announced plans to start daily nonstop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport said at the time it would encourage more direct routes, including between Guangzhou and Delhi.

The diplomatic rapprochement comes amid mounting trade tensions with the United States. In September, US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Indian imports to 50 percent, citing India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. He also called on the European Union to impose 100 percent tariffs on China and India as part of efforts to pressure Moscow to end its war in Ukraine.

Source: Agency