India, China agree to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, direct flights

In an effort to enhance bilateral relations, India and China have chosen to restart the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which has been halted since 2020. During a meeting between foreign secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, New Delhi and Beijing also reached a preliminary agreement on the resumption of direct flights.

“In this context, the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025; the relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements. They also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Vikram Misri visited Beijing for two days to attend a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism involving India and China. The meeting, consistent with the agreements reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, in October, resulted in both countries agreeing to take substantial actions to enhance and stabilize their bilateral relationship. Additionally, during the meeting, the two nations concurred on implementing suitable initiatives to encourage and facilitate exchanges among their citizens, including interactions between media and think tanks.

“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 statement by the MEA further said.

Prior to the meeting, the MEA indicated it would concentrate on future actions in bilateral relations and aim to clarify the LAC conflict. It was also mentioned that the two parties would probably talk about resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, establishing direct flights between the nations, and easing visa processes for Chinese nationals.  The talks also featured functional interactions, with a consensus to gradually renew discussions on essential topics like economic and trade matters, with the goal of advancing policy clarity and enduring stability.

The progress between the two countries occurs months after they finalized disengagement in Depsang and Demchok, the two areas of tension in Ladakh. After the disengagement in October 2024, both parties consented to conduct weekly patrols, with the initial round of patrolling concluded in November of the previous year.