China and India resumed border trade across Nathu La Pass Thursday after 44 years of standstill.

A reopening ceremony was held at Nathu La Pass, with the altitude of 4,545 meters on the border between India's Sikkim state and China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Thursday morning chaired by Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling.

A Chinese delegation of about 100 Tibetan business people crossed over the pass to the Indian side while a group of 100 Indian traders will also visit the trade mart at Renqinggang on Chinese side, some 10 km from Nathu La.

The Himalayan pass had been a major trade point along the ancient Silk Road for centuries. In the early 20th century, the trade volume here had once accounted for 80 percent of the total trade volume between the two countries.

But the pass had become a heavily guarded border after the border dispute between the two countries since 1962.

"This is not just a symbolic trade, but we hope it would help to improve relations between the countries. Today the border is open for trade, and we hope the border will soon open for tourists and a bus service from Gangtok (state capital of Sikkim) to Lhasa very soon. We are excited and feel really good," said Chinese ambassador to India Sun Yuxi.

Highways at the two sides of the pass have been linked while facilities like customs, immigrations and trade markets are taking shape.

India will export 29 items of commodities to China like textiles, liquor, cigarette, tea, barley, rice, vegetable oil, and local herb. Chinese traders would be able to export 15 items from horses to goats and sheep, yak tail, yak hair, goat skin, wool, and raw silk.

The pass is 460 km away from Lhasa, 52 km from Gangtok, and 550 km away from Calcutta, a major port along west Indian coast.

Source: Xinhua