Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that his week-long visit to China has been vital in strengthening the mutual harmony, respect and trust between Nepal and China and taking the historically friendly relations between the two countries to a newer height.
DPM Shrestha made these remarks while speaking at a press conference upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday after concluding his nine-day visit to China.
DPM Shrestha visited China at the invitation of his counterpart Wang Yi from March 24 leading a Nepali delegation.
DPM Shrestha said during the visit, both sides agreed to form a Joint Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers of Nepal and China to regularly review various aspects of the existing friendly relations between Nepal and China.
“The Chinese side is ready to open the 14 traditional trade routes between Nepal and China which have remained closed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. I expect that this will ease the daily life and business of Nepali citizens living near the Chinese border easier,” DPM Shrestha said.
DPM Shrestha also said that discussions were held to give a final shape to the Belt and Road Initiative’s implementation plan and take it to an execution phase.
He said that the government had requested the Chinese side to provide free Chinese visa to Nepalis who want to visit China and they responded positively. Nepal has been providing free visas to Chinese tourists visiting Nepal since 2016.
DPM Shrestha said that China had expressed its commitment to provide an enhanced level of cooperation to Nepal.
According to the Agreement on Trans-Frontier Pasturing by Border Inhabitants signed between Nepal and China in 2012, the Chinese side has been positive to allow the Nepalis living in the border area to use pasture land in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and expand electrification in some Nepali villages along the border, DPM Shrestha said.
He also said that both sides were positive to resume direct bus service between Kathmandu and Lhasa of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
“I have requested the Chinese side to facilitate the export of Nepali goods including cooked buffalo meat, haylage (grass), plant-based medicinal products, vegetables and fruits. The Chinese side has promised to provide necessary support in this regard,” he said.
On the occasion, the two sides agreed to operate more flights to Nepal’s Kathmandu and Pokhara and various cities in China. “It seems that it will help expand trade and people-to-people relations between the two countries and bring more Chinese tourists to Nepal,” DPM Shrestha said.
Likewise, DPM Shrestha said that the government requested for maximum participation of Chinese investors in the 3rd Nepal Investment Conference to be held in Kathmandu on April 28 and 29.
“The high-level Chinese leadership has expressed commitment to encourage Chinese investors to participate in the conference,” said DPM Shrestha.
It has been agreed that the concerned stakeholders of the two countries will work together to successfully celebrate the Visit Nepal Year-2025 in China, he said.
“We had a positive discussion about creating a Development Corridor between Nepal-Tibet-Chongqing-Sichuan,” he said.
He noted that he also gave a formal invitation to his counterpart and member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Wang Yi to visit Nepal.
During the visit, DPM Shrestha met various Chinese leaders including National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Huning, Yuan Jiajun, Secretary of Chongqing Municipal Committee, Wang Junzheng, Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Huang Qiang, Governor of the People’s Government of Sichuan Province, and Sun Haiyan, Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party and discussed various dimensions of Nepal-China relations.
