China-Nepal ties at historical best: Ambassador

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Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Nepal from October 12 to 13, the first visit to the country by a Chinese president in 23 years.

Ahead of Xi's arrival, Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi said the visit will have a major and long-term impact on bilateral relations and the region.

China-Nepal relations are at one of their best levels in history, Hou said, as the two countries have kept close cooperation and frequent official exchanges over the past years.

The ambassador said both Nepali people and government appreciate China's assistance after two devastating earthquakes struck the country in April and May, 2015, killing 8,832 people and affecting around 2.8 million others.

The Nepali government recognizes that the bilateral relationship is at one of their best times in history, she said.

President Xi's visit will further enhance political mutual trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote people-to-people and cultural exchange, and inject new impetus into the China-Nepal relations, and China's relations with South Asia as whole, she added.

A truck goes past the Friendship Bridge that connects Nyalam County of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region and Nepal's Sindhupalchowk district, May 29, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

A constructor works at the tunnel of Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project (BBDMP), built by Chinese company, in Surkhet district of Karnali Province in western Nepal, April 16, 2019. /Xinhua Photo

Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari paid a state visit to China and attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in April this year.

Hou said Nepali people told her the Belt and Road Initiative has transformed Nepal from a land-locked country, with no direct access to the sea, to a land-connected country.

Nepal hopes to speed up the construction of the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity, and promote cooperation under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative to new heights, she added.

China is now Nepal's largest investor and second-largest trade partner.

In 2018, trade between China and Nepal reached 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 11.7 percent year-on-year, official data showed.

Chinese companies have also been the main force behind the Nepal engineering contracting market, and have signed contracts worth a total of 5.45 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2018, according to the Chinese Embassy.