In a major step towards normalisation of bilateral ties, India and China on Monday decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025 and agreed to hold an early meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers.

The two sides also decided to take appropriate measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions.

Advertisement

They agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries. The relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date.

The decisions were taken during talks Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had with Chinese leaders and top officials during his two-day visit to Beijing. Mr Misri was in China for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Foreign Minister mechanism. As agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October last year, the two sides reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilise and rebuild ties.

They agreed to take appropriate steps to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions. They agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries; the relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date.

An official statement said the two sides recognise that 2025, being the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, 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 two sides will conduct a number of commemorative activities to mark this anniversary.

The two sides took stock of the extant mechanisms for functional exchanges. It was agreed to resume these dialogues step by step and to utilise them to address each other’s priority areas of interest and concern. Specific concerns in the economic and trade areas were discussed with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability.

During his visit, the Indian diplomat called on Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Liu Jianchao.