China Eastern Airlines has resumed its Shanghai-Delhi service after a five-year gap, marking the first mainland Chinese carrier to restore direct flights to India this year. The resumption follows the resolution of border tensions and aims to boost trade, economic, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Chinese airline China Eastern is set to begin its Delhi-Shanghai flight from Sunday, days after IndiGo's flight to Guangzhou from Kolkata, marking the resumption of the flight services between the two countries after a gap of five years.
Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah addressed parliament on the ongoing border dispute with India, stating both countries have agreed to seek resolution through diplomatic means and expert consultation. Shah's remarks about Nepal also encroaching on Indian territories have sparked controversy.
Two pilgrims -- Leela Narayanan Mandredath, 56, of Kerala and Satya Laxmi of Andhra Pradesh -- have died due to high altitude sickness in Simikot and heart attack in Tibet respectively, the Indian Embassy said.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has arrived in Beijing for a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with Chinese officials. The visit comes amid ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and to resume bilateral cooperation in various fields, including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
India and China held diplomatic talks in Beijing, focusing on effective border management and the resumption of cross-border cooperation and exchanges, including on trans-border rivers and the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. The meeting explored measures and proposals to implement decisions made during the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue in December. Both sides agreed to work together for the next SR meeting in India later this year.
Foreign policy expert C Raja Mohan has said that the recent disengagement of troops with China in eastern Ladakh has given a small opening to India, but the "big issues" remain. He also stressed the importance of strengthening India's ties with the US for technological and economic growth.
Water level of the river Kali has been continuously rising and reached the danger level.
India and China will resume direct flight services by the end of this month after a five-year gap, signaling an effort to rebuild ties strained by the border standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China on May 26.
Opening of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra route from Ladakh, royalty in hydro power projects and a multi-purpose tunnel through Khardongla were some of the demands put forth by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council before Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Leh on Tuesday.
China promised to address three key concerns of India, the sources said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India for border talks with NSA Ajit Doval, ahead of PM Modi's visit to China for the SCO summit. The visit aims to improve bilateral ties after recent tensions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Japan and China starting around August 29. The visit to China would be his first after the Ladakh border standoff.
China's military has said it is willing to work with India to find a solution to the border issue, while also pushing for sound and stable defence ties. The statement comes after recent meetings between officials from both countries to normalize relations following a prolonged period of tension.
India is committed to taking forward its ties with China based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders held wide-ranging talks to reset the bilateral relations.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval stated that India-China relations have shown an "upward trend" in the past nine months, with peace prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This statement was made during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the boundary issue, ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to China for the SCO summit.
India and China are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to India. The visit is seen as an effort to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes.
Wang is travelling to India days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned trip to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
India has lodged a "solemn protest" with China over the establishment of two new counties in the Hotan prefecture, as parts of these regions fall within India's union territory of Ladakh. The Indian government asserted that the creation of these counties will not impact its sovereignty over the area and does not lend legitimacy to China's "illegal and forcible" occupation.
China welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), expressing hope that the event will be a 'gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results'.
Work is also progressing on 17 strategic highway-cum-airstrips, three of which have been completed, he said. Besides, work is on in full swing on the Rs 12,000 crore ambitious Chardham project for providing all-weather connectivity to Gangotri, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Badrinath.
India and China celebrated the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Tuesday, with leaders from both countries exchanging congratulatory messages. The anniversary comes as the two countries are working to restore ties after a four-year freeze due to the military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Both countries have expressed a willingness to enhance strategic mutual trust and step up cooperation in various fields. The two sides are also exploring ways to rebuild ties and promote people-to-people exchanges.
In the talks, China emphasised that the two sides should proceed from the fundamental interests of China, India and adhere to the strategic height and long-term perspective of China-India relations, the readout said.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing for a two-day trip beginning Sunday, marking the second high-profile visit from India to China in less than one-and-a-half months. The visit comes amidst ongoing border tensions and follows a recent disengagement pact between the two countries in eastern Ladakh. The Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism meeting will focus on the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. The decision to revive this bilateral mechanism was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October.
However, Beijing expresses readiness for talks to reopen the Nathu La pass for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.
Jaishankar said that both sides also exchanged views on the next steps in the India-China bilateral ties.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday pledged to strengthen the strategic relationships with neighbouring countries by 'appropriately' managing differences and enhancing supply chain ties as China's tariff war with the United States escalated.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India focuses on border talks with NSA Ajit Doval, amidst efforts to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes and rising India-US tensions.
"Indian yatra to Kailash and Manasrovar is an important part of China-India people-to-people and cultural exchanges... The two sides agreed that a total of 350 yatris in seven batches would take part in yatras to Xizang through Nathula Pass this year," the spokesperson of Chinese embassy in India said.
Local land records also say the land at Kalapani and Lipulekh belongs to the residents of two villages on the Indian side of the border, an official recently said.
Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory -- India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.
'If China shows greater concerns for Indian interests, ties could improve. Otherwise, the thaw could be short-lived.'
China has objected to Indian Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks on the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, urging India to be cautious on Tibet-related issues to avoid impacting bilateral relations. China insists any future Dalai Lama must receive its approval.
India and China have agreed to work towards a "roadmap" for rebuilding mutual trust following the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, according to a statement from the Indian Defence Ministry. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Vientiane, Laos, on the sidelines of a regional security conclave. Singh called for drawing lessons from the "unfortunate border clashes" of 2020 and emphasized the need for cooperation rather than conflict. Both sides agreed to work towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding, and a meeting of the Special Representatives and Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will also take place soon.
India and China have announced a series of measures aimed at improving their relationship, including maintaining peace along the border, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flights.
Azad asked why none of the ministers have issued a single statement of apology or the protest?
"There will be no discrimination in name of caste, religion and sex. There will be overall development," Adityanath said in his address at the Maharana Pratap Inter College in Gorakhpur, his parliamentary constituency.
China on Monday opened the second land crossing in Tibet via Nathu La to allow the first batch of Indian pilgrims undertaking the arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra, in the latest confidence-building measure between the two neighbours.
Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
