What happened?
On August 20, 2025, India and China agreed to resume direct flights and increase trade and investment flows, including reopening border trade at three designated points. The announcement came following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s two-day visit to New Delhi for the 24th round of boundary talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Direct flights, suspended since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, are expected to restart soon, although no specific date has been provided. The two sides also discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including border disengagement, delimitation negotiations, and the reopening of channels for people-to-people exchanges and visa facilitation.
Why it matters to India
The developments signal a cautious effort by both countries to stabilize bilateral ties following the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes. The agreement to restore direct flights, reopen border trade, and cooperate on investment and visa facilitation marks a potential turning point in bilateral engagement. Strategic concerns were also addressed during the talks. India reiterated its objection to China’s construction of a major hydropower dam on the Yarlung Zangbo river in Tibet, which becomes the Brahmaputra downstream in India. In response, China agreed to share emergency hydrological data and engage in expert-level dialogue on cross-border river cooperation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after meeting Wang Yi, emphasized that “stable, predictable, constructive ties” with China are essential for regional and global peace. The visit also sets the stage for Modi’s upcoming trip to Tianjin for the SCO Summit later this month—his first to China in over seven years. Both sides agreed to hold the next round of boundary talks in China in 2026, indicating continued dialogue at the highest levels.