Expert calls for widening ties beyond the runway

The resumption of direct flights between India and the Chinese mainland is "a good but small step" — one that should be expanded into broader economic, cultural and educational engagement if Asia's two largest countries are to rebuild trust, says Sudheendra Kulkarni, who served as an aide to former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

After a five-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, direct flights between the two sides have resumed, with IndiGo and China Eastern Airlines reopening key routes linking Guangzhou, New Delhi, Shanghai and Kolkata in late October and early November.

"There should be, I would say, 100 direct flights from 20 different cities in India and in China," Kulkarni said, adding that expanding such routes is essential to normalizing people-to-people exchanges, which have long lagged behind trade and diplomacy.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India, though their civilizational ties stretch back more than two millennia. Kulkarni said renewed people-to-people relations are not merely symbolic but strategic.

"Trust is the foundation of a great and enduring bilateral relationship," he said.

However, opportunities for such engagement have been limited in recent years. Since 2020, the Indian government has banned 59 mobile apps from Chinese entities, including WeChat, restricting a channel for Indians to learn about China and increasing reliance on Western media.

"We have very little news and few features from China on Indian television, which is abnormal," Kulkarni said. As a result, the two countries are seeing each other mostly through the eyes of foreign media, he said. "India should have its own mind and eyes to truly understand China, rather than relying on BBC and CNN."

Kulkarni also urged India to ease visa rules for Chinese scholars, entrepreneurs and tourists, emphasizing that cross-border learning is vital to rebuilding trust that has eroded in recent years. "I strongly urge the government of India to create more opportunities for Chinese students to come and study in India."

The Indian government bears a major responsibility in this regard, he said, as it closed the doors to Chinese visitors last year. By contrast, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said in August that the Chinese embassy issued more than 280,000 visas for Indians to travel to China.

Trade remains resilient

Despite the absence of direct flights until recently and the continued suspension of tourist visas for Chinese nationals, trade between the two countries has remained resilient. Xu said the bilateral trade reached more than $138.5 billion last year, up 1.7 percent year-on-year.

Kulkarni explained that many Indian industrialists import capital goods and machinery from China "because they admire both the quality of Chinese products and the fact that they are much cheaper — same quality, but much cheaper".

A veteran advocate of India-China friendship, Kulkarni is the founder and chairman of the Forum for a New South Asia, an independent platform based in Mumbai. He has visited China more than two dozen times and is currently writing a book on China's success in eradicating extreme poverty and the lessons it offers for India and other developing countries.

Shifting to global governance, Kulkarni said he believes China's Global Governance Initiative is an "extremely important initiative", along with the global initiatives of development, security and civilization. Together, they offer "important frameworks for a more democratic and inclusive multipolar world order", he said.

As leading voices of the Global South, India and China must work together to ensure the world is governed with the participation of all countries — large and small, rich and poor — on the basis of equality, he said.

With its vast population and fast-growing economy, India faces huge demands in infrastructure and agriculture. Kulkarni said that closer cooperation between India and China would not only benefit both economies but also promote the development of other Global South countries.

At a time of global flux, he said the bilateral collaboration is indispensable for shaping a stable and prosperous world.

"As the only two countries in the world with populations of over 1 billion each, and inheritors of two great civilizations, China and India have a responsibility to be good neighbors and to promote peace, stability, progress and prosperity globally — beginning with Asia."

Reflecting on China's adoption of recommendations for its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) amid rising geopolitical tensions, Kulkarni said the plan emphasizes both self-reliance and continued international engagement.

He highlighted that China is focusing on innovation in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing and aerospace, among other sectors.

Contact the writers at songping@chinadaily.com.cn