Expert: Hopes arise from direct flights between India & China

Editor’s note:

China Eastern Airlines started the Shanghai to Delhi direct flight on November 9, coinciding with the just-concluded 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE). On this occasion, we roll out an opinion piece by Chhayakanta Nayak, president of the Indian Press Association.

India and China, the two most populous close neighbours and fastest growing world economies, resumed direct flights after a long five-year break. For obvious reasons the news headlines screamed – “Signal of Strategic Recalibration”, “Boost for Trade, Tourism, and Regional Connectivity’’, “Breaking the Hiatus” so on and so forth.

Positive feedbacks

The direct air services were also welcomed from travellers, business groups and companies from both countries. The relaunch has been warmly received by Indian business representatives.

"It is a welcome decision for the India-China relationship. With direct flights, both trade and tourism will grow and make the region stronger - a win-win for all," Arjun Dhawan, governing council member of the Rubber Plastic and Skill Development Council of the government of India, told the media.

Private sector IndiGo Airlines started the first direct daily flights on this route on October 26. The flight carrying 176 passengers departed from Kolkata and landed in Guangzhou. After a few hours of turnaround, the same flight departed again for India around noon on Monday, completing its first-round trip.

This round-trip saw full capacity on both the inbound and outbound legs emphasizing the strong demand for the newly resumed route. Passengers in the flight both from India and China were ecstatic. This will help not only in business but also peoples contact with increased tourists to each country, they said.

Yu Jing, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, said in a post on X on Sunday night that direct flights between China and India "are now a reality," highlighting the newly resumed Guangzhou-Kolkata service and noting that flights between Shanghai and New Delhi will start on November 9 and operate three times a week.

China Eastern Airlines did start the Shanghai to Delhi flight from November 9. It is even planning to have more flights sooner. Other Indian and Chinese carriers, including Air India, China Southern, and Air China, are expected to restart or add more routes in the near future. The resumptions aim to boost trade, tourism, and people-to-people contact between the two nations.

Coinciding with CIIE

Resumption of direct flights would not have come at a better time. The six-day long 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which was held from November 5 to 10 in Shanghai, saw Indian businessmen exhibiting their product.

What an opportunity for these businessmen to fly directly from India. Earlier, they had to take a flight to a third country from where they had to fly to other destinations in China. This was time consuming, uncomfortable and at times fraught with uncertainties.

Incidentally India's exports to China rose by about 22 percent year-on-year in the first half of the 2025-26 fiscal year - from April to September 2025, according to official data. The increase offers a telling glimpse into the evolving landscape of Asian trade, as exporters recalibrate in response to the aftershocks of US tariffs.

At the same time bilateral trade between India and China grew by 10.9 percent in the first nine months of this year. Experts opine that Indian exporters have diversified some of their trade to different destinations in the wake of the US tariffs.

The 8th CIIE served as an accessible channel for foreign products including that from India to enter the Chinese market. As a pioneering initiative in global trade development, the CIIE continued to showcase China's commitment to openness, retaining loyal participants while attracting new international engagement.

This year's event featured a record-high participation from 155 countries, regions, and international organizations. With 4,108 overseas enterprises exhibiting across more than 430,000 square meters of space, both metrics represented the highest levels in the expo's history.

More expectations

The Indian government said the resumption of flights will boost "people-to-people contact" and aid the "gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges". Some of the business flyers were more optimistic. "It was such a smooth and easy, lovable trip," said Rashika Mintri, a 44-year-old interior designer from Kolkata to the media. "I could come again and again," she said.

Kolkata, the first city from where the direct flight resumed, has centuries-old ties with China dating back to British rule, when Chinese migrants arrived as traders. Indo-Chinese fusion food remains a beloved staple of the city's culinary identity.

"It's great news for people like us, who have relatives in China," said Chen Khoi Kui, a civil society leader in Kolkata's Chinatown district of Tangra. Chen added that air connectivity will boost trade, tourism and business travel.

The resumption of direct flights is also seen as a "first step" in repairing ties, said passenger Athar Ali, a 33-year-old businessman from India, as he waited to check in for IndiGo's Monday flight returning the aircraft to Kolkata.

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the check-in counter of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, where a long queue had formed for the first direct flight from China to India since 2020. The airport also held a welcoming ceremony the same day to greet the arrival of IndiGo's first flight.

A guidance vehicle marked "6E1703" escorted the aircraft to its gate, and cabin crew and passengers were greeted with flowers, cake and a small ceremony. But apart from flights, the quickest mode of transport will become a great catalyst for emerging Sino-Indian relationship in the near future.

Writing by Chhayakanta Nayak (President of the Indian Press Association); Editing by Wang Yunya, Zu Hongbing and Wang Shixue