China and India discuss resuming border trade after five-year pause
Both sides have proposed restarting trade through designated points on the shared border, and the matter is currently under bilateral discussion, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are still private.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday that Beijing is "willing to step up communication and coordination with India' on the matter. "Border trade between China and India has long played an important role in improving lives of the two countries' border residents,' it said in a response to a query.
India's Ministry of External Affairs didn't respond to an email seeking further information.
For over three decades, India and China had traded locally produced goods — such as spices, carpets, wooden furniture, cattle fodder, pottery, medicinal plants, electric items and wool — through three designated points along their 3,488-kilometer disputed Himalayan border. The trade value is relatively small, estimated at just $3.16 million in 2017-18, according to the most recent government data available.
The trading points were shut during the COVID-19 pandemic, which coincided with a sharp decline in relations between the two nations after border clashes in the Himalayas killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops.
The planned resumption marks another sign that relations between the two neighbors are gradually improving after both sides took steps last year to end border tensions.
China and India are set to resume direct flight connections as soon as next month, while Beijing has eased curbs on some fertilizer shipments to India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to head to China for the first time in seven years in August to attend a summit of the Beijing-led regional security grouping — the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — and hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.
The normalizing of ties between the two countries comes against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between New Delhi and U.S. President Donald Trump, who has imposed a 50% tariff rate on Indian exports to the U.S. — significantly higher than the duties imposed on regional peers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
30 minutes ago
- NHK
Chinese fishing boats head out to East, South China Seas
Fishing boats have set sail from Chinese ports after the lifting of an annual ban on operating in parts of the East and South China Seas. The areas include waters around Taiwan, and those off the Senkaku Islands in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture. Japan controls the Senkaku islands. The Japanese government maintains they are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them. On Saturday, the Chinese government lifted the ban that it had imposed each year for what it says was to protect marine resources. A large number of boats left a port in Quanzhou in Fujian Province, facing the East China Sea. Tensions were raised after the ban was lifted in 2016, when more than 200 fishing boats swarmed to waters near the islands. Some of them, including Chinese government vessels, entered Japan's territorial waters. Fujian provincial authorities apparently hope to prevent tensions this year. They have instructed fishers to be rigorously attentive to sensitive sea areas and consciously avoid political risk. Officials are expected to strengthen monitoring and law enforcement measures for the ships. One of the fishers told NHK that they are not allowed to operate near Japan and Taiwan, and that their activities are restricted to designated maritime zones. Chinese government ships have often entered Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands. The Japan Coast Guard says a record high number of such vessels were spotted in the contiguous zone just outside Japanese territorial waters on 355 days in 2024.
7 hours ago
Taiwan Foreign Chief's Visit Affecting Japan-China Relations
News from Japan Politics Aug 16, 2025 13:38 (JST) Tokyo, Aug. 16 (Jiji Press)--Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung's latest trip to Japan has affected Japan-China ties, with Beijing canceling at the last minute a bilateral meeting of agriculture ministers. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi avoided going into detail in a press conference on Friday, stating only, "We understand that (the ministerial meeting) was not held due to scheduling conflicts of both sides." Chinese agriculture minister Han Jun was set to visit Japan to hold a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, on Tuesday, after a trilateral agriculture ministers' meeting involving the two nations plus South Korea held in Incheon near South Korea's capital, Seoul, on Monday. Many within the Japanese government consider Lin's Japan visit in late July to be the reason for the cancellation. The Taiwanese side has said that the foreign chief had made a personal visit to Japan. During the trip, however, he held talks with Keiji Furuya of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who heads a suprapartisan group of Japanese lawmakers aiming for stronger Tokyo-Taipei relations, and other Japanese officials. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
9 hours ago
- Japan Times
Taiwan foreign minister's visit puts damper on Japan-China relations
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung's latest trip to Japan has put a damper on Sino-Japanese ties, with Beijing canceling at the last minute a bilateral meeting of agriculture ministers. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi avoided going into detail during a news conference Friday, stating only: "We understand that (the ministerial meeting) was not held due to scheduling conflicts of both sides." Chinese agriculture minister Han Jun was set to visit Japan to hold a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, on Tuesday, after a trilateral agriculture ministers' meeting involving the two nations plus South Korea held in Incheon near South Korea's capital, Seoul, on Monday. Many within the Japanese government consider Lin's Japan visit in late July to be the reason for the cancellation. The Taiwanese side has said that the foreign chief had made a personal visit to Japan. During the trip, however, he held talks with Keiji Furuya of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who heads a suprapartisan group of Japanese lawmakers aiming for stronger Tokyo-Taipei relations, and other Japanese officials. In light of heightened tensions between China and the United States, Beijing has been pushing for improved ties with Japan. In autumn last year, China resumed its visa exemption for short-term stays by Japanese nationals. It announced in June this year the restart of imports of Japanese fishery products. The Chinese government has been especially sensitive about the Japanese government's historical perceptions and Taiwan issues due to it marking the 80th anniversary this year of its victory in the past war against Japan. A senior official at the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, "China had to take a strong response based on moves by Taiwan." Lin's trip may also impact Japan-China high-level talks expected to be held on the sidelines of a series of summits related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia in October.
