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In an implicit recognition of Sikkim being a part of India, China today agreed to have border trade through the northeastern state while India recognised the autonomous region of Tibet as part of Chinese territory.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, after lengthy talks today addressed the long-standing bilateral irritant of Sikkim, which China had so far refused to accept as part of Indian territory.
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The memorandum of understanding on expanding border trade, signed by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Chinese Commerce Minister Hu Fuyan, provides for trade through routes that go through Sikkim.
In the first-ever joint declaration signed by the two countries, which will be made public tomorrow, India is understood to have recognised the Tibetan autonomous region as part of the territory of the People