India and China open historic border, hope to improve relationship

India and China open historic border, hope to improve relationship

The opening of the Nathu La pass was the latest in a string of measures India and China have taken in recent years to improve ties and end decades of mutual suspicion rooted in a 1962 border war.

The 4,300 meter-high (14,000-foot) mountain pass, once part of the famed Silk Road, lies between India's northeastern state of Sikkim and China's Tibet region.

Sikkim's chief minister, Pawan Kumar Chamling, and the Chinese-appointed leader of Tibet Champa Phuntsok cut the ribbon opening the pass to the cheers of the gathered dignitaries, soldiers and traders from both sides, the AP reports.