BEIJING - China has for some time been in close communication with India to promote the early resumption of direct flights between the two countries, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.

Lin made the remarks when answering a query concerning the report saying that India and China are set to resume direct flight connections as soon as next month, and Airlines in India have been asked by the Indian government to prepare flights to China at short notice.

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Lin said the total population of China and India combined is over 2.8 billion. Resuming direct flights between the Chinese mainland and India helps facilitate cross-border travel, exchanges and cooperation, he added.

When asked to comment on the positive momentum of China-India relations, as well as the two countries' cooperation on the global stage, Lin said a cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant as partners helping each other succeed is the right choice for the two sides since they are both major developing countries and important members of the Global South.

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Lin said China stands ready to work with India to act on the important common understandings reached between leaders of the two countries, consistently increase political mutual trust, expand exchanges and cooperation together, properly handle differences while bearing in mind the bigger picture, and strengthen coordination and cooperation on such multilateral platforms as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), with a view to promoting the sound and steady development of China-India relations.