India and China have resumed traditional border trade on Saturday through the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand state and Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh state. These two key Himalayan trade routes had been closed for nearly six years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the Pitorgarh area of Uttarakhand state, at the Lipulekh point, the first group of 16 traders and four support staff crossed into Tibet without goods, marking the start of the resumption of trade operations. Chinese authorities initially limited the group to 20 people, citing infrastructure issues at the Tacheng market, and required advance submission of detailed personal information for all traders. Furthermore, they requested priority be given to those who participated in the last trading season in 2019.
In accordance with this requirement, the traders' association selected those whose goods were stuck in Tacheng after the suspension of trade in 2020. Ashish Joshi, SDM and district trade officer, noted: 'Priority was given to traders who participated in the 2019 trading season and left their goods in Tacheng.'
Meanwhile, in Himachal Pradesh, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi accompanied the first batch of 16 Indian traders traveling by horseback to the village of Shipki in Tibet via the 3930-meter high Shipki La pass. The trade, which was halted in 2020 due to Covid, was scheduled to resume on June 1st but was postponed due to security concerns and insufficient infrastructure at the trading point.
Trade through Shipki La, which will be open until November 30th, will continue under the traditional barter system. Indian traders are allowed to stay abroad for up to 72 hours, while local administration approved 53 traders after background checks. Indian traders are permitted to export 36 categories of goods, including dried fruits, spices, handicrafts, and herbs, and Chinese traders can import 20 categories of goods such as pashmina, wool, barley skin, fur, and Chinese clay. Officials reported that the total list includes 72 categories of goods subject to trade from India and 30 from China.
Negi also opened the Chuppan trading market worth 1.7 crore rupees in Namgya village, Pu subdivision, near the international border, to promote cross-border trade. In response to local traders' requests to expand the list of tradable goods, Negi stated that this proposal would be presented to Prime Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Trade conducted through the Lipulekh Pass on the border between India and China in the state of Uttarakhand resumed on Saturday after a hiatus of more than six years. According to officials, the Chinese side allowed twenty Indian traders entry into Purang (Daklakot).
In the first stage, the Chinese administration of Tibet granted these traders permission to travel to assess readiness and check existing stocks.
Previously, during the visit of Foreign Minister Vikram Misri to Beijing, India and China discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations. It was confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping share the view that both countries are development partners.
Foreign Ministry representative Randhir Jaiswal stated that both sides recognize the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the border regions of India and China. In recent months, New Delhi and Beijing have taken several steps to normalize their relations.
These relations became very tense during the prolonged four-year stalemate on the Eastern Ladakh border. Last year, in August, Prime Minister Modi visited Tianjin in China to participate in the annual SCO summit. In addition to the SCO summit, broad talks took place between Prime Minister Modi and Xi Jinping.
