India and the Chinese mainland resumed direct flights on Sunday after a five-year suspension, a move important both for trade and a symbolic step as the two sides rebuild relations.

IndiGo flight 6E1703 from Kolkata touched down in Guangzhou shortly before 4.00 am, officially resuming nonstop air links that had been suspended since 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent geopolitical tensions.

Ties between the neighbours – the world's two most populous nations – have eased gradually since a deadly Himalayan border clash in 2020.

India's government said the resumption of flights will boost "people-to-people contact" and aid the "gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges."

Warming relations with Beijing come as India's ties with key trade partner Washington falter, following US President Donald Trump's order imposing punishing 50 percent tariffs.

Trump's aides have accused India of fuelling Russia's war in Ukraine by buying Moscow's oil.

There are already regular flights between India and Hong Kong, while additional services from the capital New Delhi to Shanghai and Guangzhou will begin in November.

"The direct air link will reduce logistics and transit time," said Rajeev Singh, head of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata, saying it would benefit businesses.

India runs a significant trade deficit with Beijing, relying heavily on Chinese raw materials for industrial and export growth.

The thaw between New Delhi and Beijing followed meetings between their leaders in Russia last year and in China in August.

India's imports from China surged to more than US$11 billion last month, up more than 16 percent compared with September 2024, according to New Delhi's commerce ministry.

Exports from India to China were US$1.47 billion, modest by comparison, but up around 34 percent year-on-year. (AFP)