China and India have agreed to resume direct commercial flights, in the latest sign of an easing of tensions between the world’s two most populous countries.

Ties between China and India appear to be on the mend after both sides agreed in-principle to resume direct flights, which have been suspended for five-years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a deadly border dispute in 2020.

Mainland China and India have not been connected by direct passenger flights for almost five years. But relations between Beijing and New Delhi have started to thaw after several high-level meetings.