BRI: China, Nepal to build trans-Himalayan network
China agreed to finance a feasibility study for a crossborder railway with Nepal under the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network, part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and pledged $118 million for China-assisted projects in the country, the foreign ministries of the two countries have said.
China will send experts to conduct surveys for the railway this year, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.
This was agreed during a meeting between Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, Wang Yi, and his Nepalese counterpart, Narayan Khadka, in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao on Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, ministry spokesperson said 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,” spokesperson Wang said.
Wang said China will work with Nepal on power projects and also in building cross Himalayan connectivity projects.
Foreign minister Wang’s pledges are part of China’s outreach to south Asian countries as Beijing expands its influence in the region.
President Xi Jinping had visited Nepal in October, 2019, when bilateral ties were upgraded to a “strategic partnership”.
A separate Nepalese foreign ministry statement on the WangKhadka meeting said the Chinese diplomat pledged 800 million RMB ($118 million) in grant assistance to Nepal for various projects.
According to the Nepalese statement, Wang announced that “…China will carry out the feasibility study of KeyrungKathmandu 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,” the Nepalese statement added.
Keyrung-Kathmandu Railway is part of the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network, the plan for which was first formally agreed between China and Nepal in 2017 when Kathmandu joined the BRI.
Additionally, Wang announced that China will “provide Nepal with 3 million RMB ($345,136) 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”.