Disrupted border traffic slashes Tibet trade in 2014

LHASA - The trade volume of southwest China's Tibet autonomous region dropped by 32.96 percent year on year to 13.85 billion yuan ($2.21 billion) in 2014, according to the local authority Wednesday.

An official with the regional capital Lhasa's customs said a major landslide in bordering Nepal, Tibet's largest trade partner since 2006, disrupted road traffic between Tibet and the Tatopani Port in Nepal from August to October.

Border trade contributed 87.91 percent of the region's foreign trade, but due to traffic disruptions, Tibet border trade stood at 12.1 billion yuan, up only 2.18 percent year on year, according to customs.

Analysts say the region will see a surge in trade volume in 2015, considering the extended railway line between Qinghai and Tibet opened last August; the expansion of Jilung, a China-Nepal border port in Tibet in December; and the idea of establishing the Himalayan economic cooperation belt.