Chinese Foreign Miner Wang meets Nepal’s top leadership as two sides ink 9 MoUs

Chinese Foreign Miner Wang Yi on Saturday held talks with Nepal’s top leadership here and discussed bilateral relations and mutual cooperation, as the two countries inked nine agreements, including one on the technical assance scheme for the China-aided feasibility study of the cross-border railway.
Wang, who holds the rank of a State Councillor – a high ranking position in the executive organ of the Chinese government, called on Prime Miner Sher Bahadur Deuba at the Prime Miner’s official residence at Baluwatar here and the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and mutual cooperation, officials said.
This is the first visit of a high-ranking Chinese official to Nepal since Nepali Congress President Deuba became the Prime Miner in July last year for a record fifth time.
Before meeting the prime miner, Wang held one-on-one talks with his Nepalese counterpart Narayan Khadka which was followed delegation-level talks at the Office of Prime Miner and Council of Miners in Singha Durbar.

While Khadka led a 25-member delegation from Nepal’s side, Wang led a 17-member Chinese delegation.
During their one-on-one meeting, Khadka and Wang focused on bilateral relations, their mutual welfare and concerns as well as other issues at the national, regional and international level, officials here said.
After their talks, the two sides signed nine MoUs related to various projects, including one on the cross-border railway, which is an important component of the Trans-Himalayan Multi dimensional connectivity network between Nepal and China.
The cross-border railway was incorporated into China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) at the second Belt and Road Forum for international cooperation in April 2019.
“Expressing his gratitude for medical equipment and COVID-19 vaccines provided China to Nepal, Khadka reiterated Kathmandu’s firm commitment to its one-China policy,” officials said.
One of the agreements is on economic and technical cooperation. Under the economic and technical cooperation, China will increase its annual assance to Nepal from Rs 13 billion to Rs 15 billion and will finance some projects that will be mutually agreed upon between the two sides, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Another agreement is on cooperation on the feasibility study of China-Nepal Power Grid interconnection where China will finance the new alignment of the Ratamate-Rasuwagadhi- Kerung transmission line.
Both sides also signed a protocol on the safety and health conditions of haylage export from Nepal to China. Another agreement is about providing 98 per cent duty-free treatment to imported goods in China. Another agreement is about the Covid vaccine assance to Nepal. China will donate an additional 4 million doses of Sinovac to Nepal.

State Councilor and Miner of Foreign Affairs of the PRC H.E. Mr. Wang Yi paid a courtesy call on the Rt. Hon. PM @SherBDeuba today. Rt. Hon. PM witnessed the virtual completion ceremony of the Pokhara Regional International Airport. @MFA_China@PaudyalBR @sewa_lamsal pic.twitter.com/ubHcXVVgfk
— MOFA of Nepal 🇳🇵 (@MofaNepal) March 26, 2022
Khadka also drew Wang’s attention to Nepal’s blocked transits with China, which is having a negative impact on the country’s economy.
Nepal–China border at Tatopani, 120 km east of Kathmandu, has been blocked for several months due to various reasons, including coronavirus travel restrictions, which is causing difficulties for Nepalese traders to conduct cross border business.
Wang is scheduled to call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday before wrapping up his three-day visit to Nepal.
Wang, who arrived here from New Delhi, started his trip from Pakan, followed unannounced visits to Afghanan and India.
The visit of China’s top diplomat is seen with much interest as it takes place shortly after the parliamentary ratification of USD 500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Agreement — a US-funded grant agreement. Sources said China did not want Nepal to ratify the MCC compact agreement.
Under the MCC programme, the US government will provide the grant assance which will be mainly utilised on strengthening Nepal’s transmission line and also improve the country’s road networks.
Nepal’s Left political parties opposed the pact, saying it was not in national interest and that it was meant for countering China.

Prime Miner Deuba in December underlined the need to ratify the grant assance from the US under the MCC forging consensus among all political parties, asserting that the programme is not against the national interest.
Earlier on Saturday, Deuba witnessed the virtual completion ceremony of the Pokhara Regional International Airport, the second international airport of Nepal. The airport was built under China’s financial assance (soft loan), according to officials.
Wang handed over the symbolic key of the airport to Foreign Miner Khadka.