Beijing: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on June 24 welcomed the landmark bilateral agreement between New Delhi and Beijing to open up an ancient border trade port through the North Eastern state of Sikkim and Tibet in China.

Welcoming the signing of the border trade agreement between India and China, CII president Anand Mahindra said the move is "sure to go down in history as a milestone in developing bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries".

He also welcomed the initiatives of the two governments to step up further economic co-operation between China and India.

The India-China border trade agreement reopens the ancient trade pass at Nathu La in Sikkim and China's Tibet autonomous region.

On June 23, China announced the establishment of a corpus of $ 500 million towards the achievement of the trade target of $ 10 billion.

The two governments also signed an agreement for issuance of six-month multiple entry visas with multiple stays of less than 90 days each to promote short-term trade business related travel.

A big CII chief executive officers' (CEO) delegation that is accompanying Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to China also had fruitful interactions with members of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), as well as other Chinese business delegates.

PTI