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The Indian government has declared that direct flights between the South Asian nation and China will resume in October, marking a further move towards the gradual normalization of bilateral ties.

There have been no direct flights between the two nations since the year 2020, following deadly troop clashes along their shared Himalayan border.

However over the recent period, Delhi and Beijing have been working towards re-building ties, including taking measures to ease border standoffs.

On Thursday, IndiGo said that it would reinitiate direct flights between the cities of the capital of West Bengal and Guangzhou from October 26.

In a press release released on Thursday, India's foreign ministry stated that the resumption of flights would "promote cultural and personal exchanges" between the nations and contribute towards "step-by-step restoration of mutual engagements."

India and China share an ill-defined border that is more than 3,440km long and have overlapping territorial claims.

In the year 2020, troops of the two countries engaged in conflict at the Galwan Valley, leaving at least twenty Indian troops and four Chinese military personnel fatally wounded.

It was the earliest lethal encounter between the both nations since 1975 and led to a deterioration in relations.

Nevertheless over the last several quarters, Beijing and Delhi have been taking initiatives to gradually re-rebuild the strained rapport.

Top-level representatives from the two sides have held numerous dialogues and meetings.

In October last year, India and China agreed on border monitoring protocols to de-escalate tensions along the contentious frontier in the Himalayas.

This year, the Chinese government began permitting Indian pilgrims to visit some sacred sites in what it calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, while India reopened tourist visa facilities to visitors from China and agreed to restart negotiations to open cross-frontier commerce through specific routes.

India's souring relationship with the United States over punishing tariffs has also given a boost to Delhi-Beijing ties.

In August, China's top diplomat visited Delhi, where he said that the two nations should see each other as "allies" rather than "rivals."

Subsequently in August, Beijing's envoy to New Delhi labeled the United States a "intimidator" for imposing steep tariffs on India and other countries.

In August, India's premier visited China for the first visit since 2017 for the SCO defence summit, where he also met China's leader on the margins of the event, and the two reaffirmed their dedication towards normalising India-China ties.