China has agreed to fund a feasibility study for a cross-border railway with Nepal as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and has pledged $118 million for China-assisted projects in the country, according to the foreign ministries of China and Nepal.
China will send experts to conduct railway surveys this year, the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Thursday. This was agreed upon during a meeting on Wednesday in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao between Chinese state councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi and his Nepalese counterpart, Narayan Khadka, according to Wang Wenbin, ministry spokesperson, at a media briefing in Beijing on Thursday.
“As I said just now, the two foreign ministers during their talks agreed to build a cross Himalaya, multidimensional connectivity network. State councillor Wang said that China will use funds, assist Nepal to support feasibility study for the railway and within the year experts will be dispatched to Nepal for exploration,” Wang stated
Wang stated that China will collaborate with Nepal on power projects as well as cross-Himalayan connectivity projects. The pledges made by Foreign Minister Wang are part of China’s outreach to South Asian countries as Beijing expands its influence in the region.
President Xi Jinping visited Nepal in October of this year, when bilateral ties were elevated to “strategic partnership.” In a separate statement on the Wang-Khadka meeting, the Nepalese foreign ministry stated that the Chinese diplomat pledged 800 million RMB ($118 million) in grant assistance to Nepal for various projects.
According to the Nepalese statement, Wang stated that “…China will carry out the feasibility study of Keyrung-Kathmandu Railway under the grant assistance. He also assured support for pre-feasibility study of Nepal-China cross border transmission line as agreed during his official visit to Nepal in March 2022.”
“On the occasion, state councillor Wang Yi announced to provide 800 million RMB to Nepal for the year 2022,” according to the Nepalese statement. The Keyrung-Kathmandu Railway is part of the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network, which was formally agreed upon by China and Nepal in 2017 when Kathmandu joined the BRI.
Wang also stated that China will “provide Nepal with 3 million RMB ($445,136) worth of disaster relief materials as per Nepal’s request. China will also provide Nepal with additional 2 million RMB ($296,757) worth of medical items and logistics,” the Nepalese statement said, adding Wang also announced that China will provide additional Covid-19 vaccines and Covid-19 related “medical assistance as much as Nepal may require”.
“China is ready to work with Nepal to jointly build the Belt and Road (Initiative) with high quality, carry forward their ever-lasting friendship and open up new prospects for the development of bilateral relations,” Wang told Khadka, according to another statement released on Thursday by the official news agency, Xinhua.
According to the Xinhua statement, Wang added that China will continue to support Nepal in upholding its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, independently seeking a development path consistent with national realities, and improving the lives of its people and national revitalisation.