After Six-Year Hiatus, India, China Resume Border Trade Through Historic Silk Route

New Delhi: After a six-year hiatus, India and China resumed border trade through the strategic Nathu La Pass in Sikkim on Saturday (August 1).

Addressing the inaugural function to mark the reopening of the historic Silk Route, Sikkim commerce and industries minister T.T. Bhutia said that the resumption of border trade as a "historic milestone" that would strengthen the state's economy, generate employment and create fresh livelihood opportunities, reported The Tribune.

Last year, during the visit Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to New Delhi, the two countries had agreed to reopen border trade. It was decided that the border trade will be reopened through the three designated trading points: Nathu La in Sikkim, Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh.

Under the mutually agreed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of both the countries, border trade will be conducted from May to November every year, with trading taking place from Monday to Thursday.

Both sides will continue to trade the existing list of 36 notified items.

The resumption of border trade between the two countries comes weeks after the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La, signifying the gradual restoration of people-to-people exchanges and border connectivity between India and China.

Bilateral mechanism of the two countries had gone into stasis following clashes between troops of either side along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh in 2020.