Crossing the mountain, Sino-Nepalese economic and trade cooperation climbs higher
Nepal is located in the southern foothills of the Himalayas, with an advantageous geographical location, connecting China and South Asia, and serving as a bridge between China and other countries in South Asia. Recently, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi received Nepalese Foreign Minister Khadgar's visit to China in Qingdao, Shandong. This is the first visit by a Nepalese foreign minister to China since the establishment of the Deuba government in July last year. During Khadgar's visit to China, the two sides reached important cooperation consensus. It is believed that under the framework of the "Belt and Road", South Asian countries, including Nepal, will work with China to fully tap the potential for cooperation, coexist peacefully, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
Regarding construction assistance, during this visit to China, the two sides will jointly build the "Belt and Road" with high quality, accelerate the feasibility study of cross-border railways, actively carry out cooperation in infrastructure such as electric power, and implement important aid projects such as the upgrading and reconstruction of Kathmandu's inner ring road. as the focus. In 2018, China and Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding on railway cooperation, but due to various factors, the project has not been able to continue. At this meeting, Wang Yi announced that China will use the aid to Nepal to support the feasibility study of the China-Nepal cross-border railway, and send experts to Nepal to conduct surveys within this year. This is the second plan to promote the China-Nepal Railway since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. During the talks, the Chinese and Nepalese foreign ministers agreed to build a trans-Himalayan three-dimensional interconnection network. The project needs to cross the Himalayas, with a distance of more than 1,000 meters in sections of less than 200 kilometers. It also needs to solve many technical problems such as complex geological conditions and frequent natural disasters along the way. In addition, the project, like many other infrastructure projects in Nigeria, also faces a series of challenges such as the new crown pneumonia epidemic, land acquisition, demolition, and ecological protection. In the future, the competent authorities of China and Nepal will strengthen communication and coordination, promote the practical implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects such as cross-border railways, and realize the common dream of the two peoples at an early date. After the completion of the cross-border railway, Nepal's export goods can enter the Chinese mainland via the China-Nepal Railway-Lhaji Railway and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which opened to traffic in 2006. The goods exported to third parties can also be shipped to China's coastal ports through the developed logistics network in mainland China, and sold to all over the world.
Regarding bilateral trade, at the meeting, the Chinese side announced to grant zero-tariff treatment to 98% of Nigeria's tax items, and welcomed Nepal's expansion of exports of tea, Chinese medicinal materials and agricultural and animal husbandry products to China. Wang Yi expressed that he supports the Nepalese side to make good use of this policy dividend to expand exports to China. At present, China-Nigeria economic and trade cooperation is making steady progress. In 2021, the trade volume between China and Nepal will reach US$1.98 billion, a year-on-year increase of 67%; the non-financial direct investment of Chinese enterprises in Nepal will reach US$52.01 billion; the newly signed project contract by Chinese enterprises in Nepal will amount to US$1.28 billion, and the completed turnover will be US$400 million. . Although there are big differences in economic scale between the two countries, they have strong complementarity in bilateral economy and trade, and there is also a lot of room for development.
The two sides will enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges and increase direct flights to facilitate personnel exchanges. According to Nepalese media reports, Chinese tourists are one of the main sources of foreign tourists to Nepal. Since 2022, a total of 3,670 Chinese tourists have entered Nepal. According to data from the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 1,593 Chinese tourists arrived in Nepal in July, the highest number of inbound tourists since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Previously, direct flights between China and Nepal were suspended.
In addition, the two sides will continue to enrich the connotation of the strategic partnership. China is willing to continue to provide disaster prevention and medical supplies to Nepal through China's South Asian National Emergency Material Reserve. Strengthen cooperation in traditional medicine, justice, combating cross-border crimes, border management, joint prevention and control, and ports. The reporter learned that in terms of port cooperation, with the joint efforts of China and Nepal, the two sides have overcome the difficulties of the new crown epidemic, and the efficiency of one-way cargo passing at the Geelong-Resova port has gradually improved. 14 containers can pass every day, which is for the recovery and development of Nepal. The economy has helped.