China Southern to resume Delhi-Guangzhou

China Southern Airlines will resume direct passenger flights between Guangzhou and New Delhi starting September 21. The route's restart ends a six-year suspension initially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged by bilateral tensions.

The carrier's announcement came hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi for the BRICS summit. With this resumption, the airline will operate over 100 weekly flights across its eight round-trip routes in South Asia.

Air services gradually normalizing

India and China have progressively restarted air links this year after the widespread 2020 suspension. The halt was extended due to tensions following military standoffs at Doklam and the Galwan Valley.

Air India resumed New Delhi-China flights in February, nearly six years after services stopped. IndiGo began its inaugural daily, nonstop service between Kolkata and Shanghai on March 30.

In April, Air China restarted its Beijing-Delhi service. That was the second route to India resumed by a Chinese carrier, following China Eastern Airlines' restart of direct flights between Kunming and Kolkata on April 18.

IndiGo has since expanded its China network, adding flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou and later starting operations from Delhi. The Guangzhou-Delhi route will now be restarted from the Chinese side as well.

Xi Jinping's visit for BRICS summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday for the 18th BRICS summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He held a bilateral meeting with PM Modi around 6 p.m. The same day.

This is Xi's first visit to India since 2019. The 2020 Galwan Valley clash soured relations between the two countries for months. However, this meeting marks the third consecutive year of bilateral talks between Modi and Xi, following their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin in 2024 and 2025.

According to the Xinhua news agency, Xi left Beijing and was expected to arrive in New Delhi at 12:25 p.m. IST. He was accompanied by Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The flight resumption signals a continued thaw in diplomatic and economic exchanges. China Southern's move reestablishes a direct air link between two major economic hubs, help travel as official engagements between the nations continue.