Xi vows to help Nepal improve connectivity

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Tuesday. Oli is on a four-day official visit to China from Monday to Thursday. (WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY)

President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to help Nepal accelerate its transformation from a landlocked nation to a land-linked one by enhancing connectivity in areas such as ports, transportation, power grids and telecommunications, as he met with Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Beijing.

China will keep deepening practical cooperation with Nepal, promote high-quality cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and continue to provide support within its capacity for the neighboring country's economic and social development, Xi said, adding that Chinese enterprises are encouraged to invest and start businesses in Nepal.

Oli, 72, who has served as Nepal's prime minister three times previously, arrived in Beijing on Monday for a four-day official visit. This was his first trip to a foreign country after he returned to power for the fourth time in July.

Xi appreciated Oli's long-standing dedication to China-Nepal friendship, saying that the two nations have treated each other with sincerity, mutual respect, and mutual support, and maintained sound and steady development of bilateral ties.

As next year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Xi said that China places high importance on its ties with Nepal in its neighborhood diplomacy and will work with the South Asian nation to push for greater progress of the China-Nepal strategic partnership of cooperation, featuring everlasting friendship for development and prosperity.

China supports Nepal's declaration of 2025 as the "Visit Nepal Year in China" and also welcomes Nepali friends to visit China for business, tourism, and study, Xi added.

Oli said that as China's friend, Nepal feels proud of and inspired by China's tremendous development accomplishments and hopes to learn from China how to achieve its own development and prosperity.

Noting that there are no differences and only friendship between Nepal and China, Oli said his country appreciates the valuable support provided by China and is willing to continue its active participation in jointly building the Belt and Road.

Nepal firmly adheres to the one-China principle and will by no means allow any anti-China activities on Nepali soil, Oli added.

On Tuesday, Nepal and China also signed cooperation documents in areas such as connectivity, medical collaboration, and industrial and infrastructure development, following a meeting between Oli and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.

During the talks, Li said that China is ready to work with Nepal to better align their development strategies, expand two-way trade and investment, and strengthen connectivity through roads, railways, and air routes.

Oli, who previously visited China in 2016 and 2018, told his Chinese counterpart that Nepal is highly inspired by China's continued reform and opening-up to build a great modern socialist country and rejuvenate the Chinese nation.

Zhang Shubin, director of the Nepal Study Center at Hebei University of Economics and Business in Shijiazhuang, said the newly signed agreements are expected to play a significant role in promoting China-Nepal friendship and cooperation and in bolstering Nepal's national development.