Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who is on an official visit to China, has held a top-level bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday afternoon.
Bilateral talks were held between Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping and the Nepali delegation led by Prime Minister Prachanda who reached Hangzhou, China on Saturday morning.
In the meeting held at the West Lake State Guesthouse in Hangzhou, both sides appreciated the age-old friendly relations between the two countries and expressed their commitments to take the bilateral relations to a new height.
Talking to Nepalkhabar, Nepali Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha said, "Both delegations from Nepal and China in the meeting vowed to build a strategic partnership for the mutual benefits and take the bilateral relations to a new height."
When asked about the BRI agreement implementation, Ambassador Shrestha said, "no concrete decisions as such were taken in the meeting, citing lack of lack of preparation. "However, the Nepali side expressed commitments to the agreement and take it forward."
According to People's Daily, Xi Jinping during the meeting pointed out that China and Nepal are connected by mountains and rivers and have been friendly from generation to generation.
"Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 68 years ago, the two countries have adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and set an example of equal treatment and win-win cooperation between large and small countries," Daily quoted Xi as saying.
Emphasizing that the two sides should always understand and support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, Xi said that China-Nepal cooperation in jointly building the "Belt and Road" has continued to achieve positive results, and the Trans-Himalayan three-dimensional interaction network has begun to take shape.
He further said that both sides should focus on promoting infrastructure connectivity, expand transit transportation cooperation, and help Nepal transform from a "land-locked" country to a "land-linked" country at an early date.
In response, Prime Minister Prachanda said Nepal highly appreciates and will actively participate in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and promote the construction of the Trans-Himalayan three-dimensional interconnection network, which, it believes, will greatly assist Nepal's economic development.
Appreciating Xi as a world visionary leader, Prachanda said, "Nepal firmly adheres to one-China policy. Taiwan and Tibet are both inalienable parts of China's territory. Nepal will not allow any force to use its territory to engage in actions that undermine China's sovereignty and security."
He also thanked China for its selfless help in economic construction, poverty alleviation, and anti-epidemic initiatives.
Members of the Nepali delegation including the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud are participated in the bilateral talks.
Prime Minister Prachanda, who arrived in China on Saturday morning, held a brief meeting, earlier in the day, with President Xi in Hangzhou. Prachanda arrived in Hangzhou to participate in the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games.
Prachanda was welcomed at the Hangzhou International Airport by Gao Zhidan, Minister for General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) Gao Zhidan, who is also the President of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
Prime Minister Prachanda arrived in China today after addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Prime Minister Prachanda addressed the United Nations General Assembly on September 22.
After the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, Prime Minister Prachanda is scheduled to visit Beijing, the capital of China.
He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang on September 25 in Beijing. After the meeting, Prime Minister Prachanda will observe China's agricultural and industrial development in Chongqing Metropolitan City.
Prime Minister Prachanda is scheduled to return to Nepal with his delegation on September 30.
