First in 26 years: No India, China trade via Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur

SHIMLA: Cross-border trade between India and China will not take place through the 15,490ft high Shipkila mountain pass in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district this year for the first time in 26 years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rising tension triggered by the Galwan valley clash with the neighbouring country.
The Shipkila trade route, which connects Kinnaur to the Tibetan Autonomous Region in China, is an ancient one and business through this route was resumed in 1994. Trade across the border is allowed with prior permission from June 1 to November 30.

As initial three months are consumed in completing formalities, actual trade takes places in September, October and November. Traders have to get a border trade pass, which is issued only after security clearance.
Trade between India and China is conducted through land customs station at Namgia Shipki-la in Pooh sub-division of Kinnaur.
As of date, the number of commodities freely importable and exportable are 20 and 36, respectively.
Traders mostly from border villages of Kinnaur district, including Namgia, Pooh, Chango, Hango, Chuling, Sumra, Shalkhar, Leo and Spillo carry stocks on mules to China.
While Indian traders carry items like agricultural implements, blankets, copper products, clothes, textiles, cycles, coffee, tea, barley, rice, flour, dry fruit, dry and fresh vegetables, vegetable oil, gur and tobacco, they return with items like jackets, shoes, crockery and flasks.
Kinnaur Indo-China Trade Association via Shipkila president Hishey Negi said not a single trader registered this time. He said earlier, as a result of standoff between two countries at Doklam in 2017, crossborder trade had remained low, but this time traders were not crossing the China border due to Covid-19 pandemic and tension with China.
Negi asked the administration to speed up the process to set up a trade centre at Chupan near Namgia, as trade was not taking place this year.
Kinnaur deputy commissioner Gopal Chand, who is the trade authority for Indo-China border trade via Shipki La, said due to Covid-19 pandemic, teh district administration had earlier recommended to the state government to not to resume trade activity this year and then the clash between India and China took place at Galwan valley in Ladakh. He said traders had also refused for cross border this time.