India – China to open the Silk route?
There are plans to reopen the Nathu-la pass after more than 40 years, which could be a symbol of rapprochement between the Asian giants after the Himalayan Blunder of a war in 1962.
Initially, the pass, at an altitude of 14,200 feet, will handle limited trade between the tiny state of Sikkim and southern Tibet. It will be a modest start but can grow. A few corrugated iron warehouses have been built to handle customs and immigration formalities, and a small trade mart erected to exchange goods at Sherathang, a chilly hamlet eight kms below the pass.