China offers aid package for Nepal, says Chinese FM

China is implementing its assistance package to Nepal, including emergency cash assistance and humanitarian aid, with some relief supplies set to arrive in Kathmandu soon, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a phone call with Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal on Saturday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that a severe mudslide disaster, triggered by a sudden glacier collapse in Nepal's border area, has caused significant casualties and left people missing on both sides. It has been the most serious cross-border disaster between the two countries in recent years, and the relief efforts are unprecedentedly complex and arduous.

He said that China attaches great importance to the situation. Chinese President Xi Jinping immediately issued instructions, setting clear requirements for rescue and emergency response work. Chinese Premier Li Qiang traveled to the disaster-hit area to guide the work on the ground.

Wang said that while urgently carrying out rescue and relief efforts on its own side, China extended a helping hand at the earliest opportunity and supported Nepal in its emergency disaster relief efforts.

President Xi has sent a message of condolence to Nepali President Ram Chandra Poudel, and Premier Li has expressed condolences to Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah, Wang noted.

China will provide emergency aid to the disaster-hit area in Nepal and carry out international rescue cooperation, according to a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. This is an important political decision made by China and demonstrates China's friendship with Nepal, he said.

Wang said two teams of Chinese tunnel rescue experts rushed to the disaster-stricken area and Kathmandu to offer assistance, and China has shared important information with Nepal, including images, satellite and hydrological data of the disaster-stricken area, as well as early warning information on the upstream barrier lake.

He said that for Nepalese citizens stranded on the Chinese side, China has made proper arrangements and will help them return to Nepal as soon as possible, expressing gratitude and hope that Nepal will continue to assist and transfer Chinese citizens in Nepal.

Wang said that China and Nepal are a community linked by mountains and rivers and sharing a common destiny. In the face of the disaster, the two countries should stand together firmly, join hands to deal with it, overcome the difficulties together, and interpret the traditional friendship across the Himalayas through concrete actions.

Shisir conveyed condolences from Nepali leaders to the Chinese government and people and to the families of the victims, and expressed sincere gratitude for China's emergency humanitarian assistance.

He said that although both Nepal and China had been hit by the disaster, China had overcome its own difficulties to extend condolences and provide assistance to Nepal at the earliest opportunity, fully demonstrating the high level of Nepal-China relations.

The Nepali side once again expressed its gratitude to China and will continue to work closely with China to make every effort to rescue Chinese nationals who remain stranded or unaccounted for, while jointly working to locate and rescue missing foreign nationals, he said.

Nepal stands ready to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as post-disaster reconstruction, disaster prevention and mitigation, and climate change response, and to further advance the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries, he said.