A senior Chinese official said on Saturday that they were eagerly waiting for early resumption of flights between the two countries and ease of visa issuance from the Indian side.

Direct air connection had also been on the lips of China's new foreign minister Qin Gang, who during his visit to India in March, met external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

“For the direct flight, there are only rumours which cannot be confirmed. We had heard it might start in end-March. But there is nothing yet,” said a member of the Chinese delegation in Calcutta.

India's delay in resumption of normal flights with the Land of the Dragon has been a pet peeve of China as the services resumed with other neighbours. Bangladesh resumed flights to China in April 2021, Nepal did the same in June 2022. The next month Pakistan International Airlines resumed its passenger flights.

But there is no word yet on India-China direct connect, the delay interpreted by many as a mark of frosty ties between the two countries since the Galwan Valley incident in June 2020.

Multiple sources on the Indian side said they expected early resumption of normal flight services as the passenger count has gone up.

The fact that passenger count is on the rise can be gauged with the visas issued by the Chinese embassy and its consulates. China has been issuing student visas since mid-2022, business visas since this February and all categories of visas since March 15.

Consul general of China in Calcutta Zha Liyou addresses the media on Friday at ITC Royal Bengal in presence of (from left) press counsellor Wang Xiaojian and minister counsellor Chen Jianjun. Picture by Sudeshna Banerjee

“We have issued 9,409 student visas since last August. In the last three months, we have issued 18,560 visas to Indians seeking to travel to China,” said Chen Jianjun, minister counsellor of the Chinese embassy.

Consul general of China in Calcutta Zha Liyou added that his office was seeing a recent surge in applications, numbering 150-200 a week. But in the absence of daily flights, fliers are having to make a detour via Singapore or Bangkok, pushing up costs.

“We are doing everything to ease out people-to-people communication and facilitate travel to China for Indian students, businessmen and tourists,” said Wang Xiaojian, the embassy’s press counsellor.

Renewal of Indian visas is also proving to be an uncertain issue for Chinese officials working in India, they alleged.

“From the Chinese side, the message is clearcut — we are working hard to improve issues regarding visa and direct flights,” Wang Xiaojian, the press counsellor.

A source on the Indian side said there were some concerns about issuing visas to Chinese nationals, but said some applicants did not disclose key details like educational background.

China's concern is understandable given India’s size as an export market. According to data by China’s General Administration of Customs, trade between India and China touched an all-time high of US $135.98 billion in 2022.