China, India open direct air route

A passenger of the first direct flight from China to India is welcomed with garlands of flowers in New Delhi's international airport

NEW DELHI, India -- China and India, the world's two most populous countries, have opened a direct air route, marking a milestone in warmer ties between the former foes.

All direct flights were ended after the eruption of a brief but brutal war in 1962, a conflict that has remained a source of simmering tensions for decades.

But a China Eastern Airlines flight took off at 1:10 p.m. (0510 GMT) and arrived in the Indian capital at 5:50 p.m. (1220 GMT) on Thursday evening, an airport official at New Delhi said.

"This flight marks the beginning of a new era in the traditional bilateral ties between our two great nations," Press Trust of India quoted Chinese Vice Minister for Civil Aviation Administration Bao Peide, as saying on arrival.

Relations between India and China, each with a population of over one billion, have been plagued by border disputes.

Beijing has long been a key supporter of India's archrival Pakistan, to which it regularly supplies conventional weapons. Western military analysts say China helped Islamabad create its nuclear arsenal.

The presence in India of 120,000 exiles from Tibet remains a source of tension between New Delhi and Beijing.

But in recent years Beijing has been trying to be more even-handed in relations with South Asia, due in part to concern that Muslim extremism in the region could spill into China, analysts say.

Glue of trade

But trade is gluing the two sides together. On a visit to India in January, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said the two nations would aim for $10 billion in trade this year, up from around $3 billion last year.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters in Beijing the flight was an important step in promoting relations.

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh left for Beijing on the return flight later on Thursday night for a five-day visit at the invitation of his counterpart, Tang Jiaxuan.

The trip by Singh, who is due in China on Friday for a visit until April 2, follows a visit by Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji to New Delhi in January.

China Eastern has said it would start a twice-weekly route from Shanghai to Delhi via Beijing at the end of March.

Previously, travelers had to make the trip indirectly via Hong Kong, Singapore, and other Asian cities.