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The article reports on the reopening of the old Silk Road, a commercial route that handles local trading between Sikkim and West Bengal in India and Chinese-occupied Tibet. The agreement to reopen the pass was part of a diplomatic bargain in which Beijing agreed to recognize the formal takeover of the Himalayan state of Sikkim south of the pass by India and New Delhi moved one step further in fully accepting Chinese rule in Tibet.

The article reports that the 14,000-foot high Nathu Lal pass has began to handle local trading between Sikkim and West Bengal in India and Chinese-occupied Tibet. The agreement between China and India to reopen the portion of the Silk Road was part of a diplomatic bargain in which Beijing agreed to recognize the formal takeover of the Himalayan state of Sikkim south of the pass by India. Although the pass opening was welcomed by Calcutta traders, expressions of anxiety about the security problem were rampant in the Indian media.