Under current regulations, only 29 kinds of goods can move from India to China, and only 15 kinds can move the other way.
LHASA: When the Nathu La, that connects Sikkim with Tibet, was opened on July 6, there was tremendous hype that it would open a new frontier in Sino-Indian trade and people-to-people interaction.
But the Chinese side now feels that India is not doing enough to open up the trade route, because of which trading volume since the pass’s inauguration has been only about 2,000 yuan (Rs 12,000).
“The situation after the inauguration of the pass is far from satisfactory," Tibet Autonomous Region Deputy Chairman Hao Peng said on Thursday. “I think the Chinese side shouldn’t bear full responsibility for increasing trade.”
For instance, Hao said, India's Commerce Ministry had imposed restrictions on the number and kinds of goods that could be traded across the Pass. Under current regulations, only 29 kinds of goods could move from India to China, and only 15 kinds could move the other way. “We welcome all kinds of goods from India as long as they do not violate laws,” Hao said. Besides, Chinese traders were not being allowed to spend a night on the Indian side of the border, Hao noted. But, there was a guesthouse on the Chinese side where Indian traders could stay.
Asked where the problem lay with Indian policymaking, Hao said that in discussions with senior Indian officials, a lot of common ground had been covered, but there were problems at the implementation level. Hao was involved in the opening of the Himalayan trade route, and made the crossing at Nathu La on July 6. Noting that much of Sino-Indian trade, estimated at $18.7 billion last year, was along the sea route, Hao said that the opening of the land route was of “historic significance” to both India and China.
“I hope we can make full use of this pass on an equal footing,” he added. Such a move would raise the living standards of people on both sides of the border.
It wasn't just about trade, Hao said. “Currently, many foreign visitors would like to visit Lhasa from India, but now it is inaccessible, and so instead a journey that could be accomplished in half a day, they have to take the long route via Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing.”
Dalai Lama can’t return: Peng
The Dalai Lama should not return to Tibet because he has not stopped his “separatist” activities, according to Hao Peng. “The Dalai Lama is not merely a religious figure; he is a political exile, who has long engaged in separatist activity in the name of religion, and he enjoys little popularity among the Tibetans.”
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