• China Eastern Airlines will resume flights from Shanghai to Delhi on November 9.
• The resumption follows a five-year pause due to diplomatic tensions and the pandemic.
• Flights will operate three times a week, on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
• Indian Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to China played a key role in this development.
• IndiGo will also launch new flights between India and China starting November 10.

China Eastern Airlines is set to resume its flights between Shanghai and Delhi starting November 9, after a five-year hiatus. This decision marks a significant shift as the two countries work to improve diplomatic relations, which had been tense due to border clashes and the COVID-19 pandemic. The flights will operate three times a week on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, according to Al Jazeera and Channel News Asia.

The resumption of flights follows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China, his first in over seven years, where he attended a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. During this visit, Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed enhancing trade relations and raised concerns regarding India's growing trade deficit with China. This diplomatic thaw is also a response to shifting global trade dynamics, especially surrounding U.S. tariffs, according to India Times and Al Jazeera.

It is noteworthy that prior to this announcement, India's largest carrier, IndiGo, also revealed plans to initiate daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou and between Delhi and Guangzhou from November 10. This broader push for increased air connectivity comes after both countries recognized the need for normalization in their relations, which had severely deteriorated following military confrontations in their Himalayan border regions, according to Channel News Asia and India Times.