India and China have agreed to reopen border trade through Lipulekh Pass, a point located 56 kilometres inside Nepal’s western frontier in Limpiyadhura. The agreement was made during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India earlier this week.

Wang visited India on August 18 and 19 at the invitation of India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. According to a statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday night, the agreement to reopen trade through Lipulekh was reached during Wang’s bilateral talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Point nine of the joint communiqué mentions the resumption of border trade. “Both sides agreed to the re-opening of border trade through the three designated trading points, namely Lipulekh Pass, Shipki La Pass and Nathu La Pass,” it states.

This marks the first time in a decade that India and China have discussed trade through Lipulekh. In May 2015, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China, he and then Chinese Premier Li Keqiang agreed to expand trade via Lipulekh. The joint statement issued on May 15, 2015, included the agreement in point 28.

The 2015 decision triggered strong protests in Nepal as the agreement was reached without its consultation, despite the pass lying within Nepali territory. The Nepal government formally objected at the time, sending diplomatic notes to both countries.

With India and China working to improve strained relations following the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes, both sides have once again agreed to open trade through Lipulekh. Nepal’s official map includes Lipulekh within its territory.

Nepal has long claimed Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as part of its sovereign land, though India has maintained control. Tensions escalated in November 2019 when India published a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh within its boundary. Nepal immediately objected and sent a diplomatic note, urging talks.

After India ignored the request, Nepal issued its own revised political map in May 2020, extending its western frontier up to Limpiyadhura. The new map is locally known as the “chuche naksa” (pointed map).

In 2023, China released a new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura as part of India, further complicating the dispute.

The agreement comes ahead of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visits to India and China—he will first attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China from August 31 to September 1, then proceed to India for an official visit starting September 16.