New Delhi: Three months after the military stand-off in Ladakh ended, the two foreign ministries announced on Monday (January 27) that India and China will resume the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage this summer and have agreed “in principle” to restart direct flights, following foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s two-day visit to Beijing.
India and China will resume the Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage this summer and agreed “in principle” to resume direct flights, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Monday (January 27) following foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s two-day Beijing visit.
The two sides agreed to convene an early meeting of the bilateral expert-level mechanism to discuss resuming cooperation with regard to sharing hydrological data and transboundary rivers, the MEA said.
This comes against the backdrop of concerns in New Delhi over China’s decision to build what is slated to be the world’s largest dam on the Yarlung Zangbo river that flows into India to become the Brahmaputra.
Misri travelled to Beijing on Sunday to resume the foreign secretary-vice minister bilateral mechanism that went into stasis following clashes between troops of either side along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh in 2020.
The freeze in ties due to the clashes also led to the Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage being halted, the prolonged suspension of direct flights originally implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a stop to the sharing of hydrological data.
During his delegation-level meeting with Chinese vice foreign minister Sun Weidong, an agreement was also reached on taking “appropriate measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions”, the MEA said. Beijing has repeatedly urged India to relax visa norms that were tightened after the 2020 clashes.
Technical authorities from either side will expedite work on negotiating an “updated framework” to resume direct flights, the MEA also said.
The Chinese foreign ministry’s readout of the meeting echoed the Indian version on most points, including resuming direct flights, facilitating Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimages, holding an early transboundary rivers meeting, enhancing people-to-people exchanges, supporting China’s SCO chairmanship, and marking 75 years of diplomatic relations.
China had earlier cited foreign minister Wang Yi as urging India to take “more substantial measures” to enhance mutual understanding and to avoid “mutual suspicion, estrangement and exhaustion”.
A readout of Misri’s meeting with Wang noted that both sides have “accelerated the process of improving China-India relations” following the discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan last year.
Since October – when India and China struck a deal to disengage each other’s troops along the border in Ladakh – the two sides have also held meetings between their foreign ministers, defence ministers and Special Representatives.
The MEA’s readout made no mention of the Ladakh border dispute or the implementation of the resolution, suggesting New Delhi is moving beyond the standoff – and quickly at that – to normalise ties.
Noting that 2025 is the 75th anniversary of the Sino-Indian bilateral relationship, the two sides on Monday agreed to hold commemorative events and “recognised” that the milestone “should be utilised to redouble public diplomacy efforts to create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public”, the MEA said.
They also “took stock of the extant mechanisms for functional exchanges” and agreed to resume them “step-by-step” and use them to address each other’s concerns on a priority basis, the MEA’s readout further said.
Concerns relating to trade and the economy were discussed specifically “with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability”.
Beijing’s readout of the Misri-Wang meeting also said that the former said the improvement and development of China-India relations align with the fundamental interests of both nations and contribute to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the Global South.
Additionally, he said this process supports peace, stability, and prosperity in Asia and globally.
According to the Chinese version of their meeting, Misri stated that the two countries, based on the “consensus” reached at Kazan, had conducted a series of constructive dialogues and communications that had since “managed and resolved differences” and “facilitated the resumption of practical cooperation across various fields”.
This copy was updated at 9:54 pm to add details of the MEA’s readout and then at 9:00 am the following day, with additional details.
