India-China ties: China agrees in principle to reopen Shipki-La route; Himachal sees boost for trade, tourism

Talks between India and China on reviving traditional border trade have yielded progress, with Beijing agreeing in principle to reopen the Shipki-La pass in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, the state government said on Sunday.The trade route, once an offshoot of the ancient Silk Route, had been suspended in 2020 following the Covid-19 outbreak.According to the Himachal government, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu that New Delhi had opened discussions with Beijing for restoring border trade through all three designated points — Shipki-La in Himachal Pradesh, Lipulekh in Uttarakhand, and Nathu La in Sikkim, PTI reported.“The Himachal government’s consistent efforts to resume trade with China through Shipki-La (Kinnaur) have yielded encouraging results. The government of China has agreed in principle to the proposal during the recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to India,” the statement said.It added that the breakthrough was achieved due to Sukhu’s personal intervention. The chief minister had written to the Union government urging revival of the Indo-Tibetan trade route, after which the matter was formally taken up with China, leading to a consensus on restarting the route.The state government said it would now approach the Union Commerce Ministry for completing the codal formalities.Sukhu emphasised that Shipki-La, designated as a border trade point under the India-China bilateral agreement of 1994, had played a vital role in trans-Himalayan economic and cultural exchanges.Besides trade, the state has also received a positive response on resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Shipki-La, the statement said.It highlighted that the Shipki-La route, connecting via Gartok towards Darchen and Mansarovar, is comparatively shorter on the Tibetan side. Himachal already has road connectivity up to Shipki-La via Rampur Bushahr and Pooh, making it feasible to develop base camps and supporting infrastructure for the pilgrimage.Jaishankar, in a letter to the chief minister, conveyed that after a five-year gap, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra had resumed through Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La Pass in Sikkim, and discussions were underway with China on adding Shipki-La as an additional route.The Himachal government said it is hopeful that these initiatives will not only revive border trade but also open fresh opportunities for tourism, cultural exchange, and economic development in the state.