China, Nepal agree on wider cooperation

BEIJING -- China and Nepal on Friday agreed to speed up post-earthquake reconstruction projects, and enhance cooperation in trade, connectivity, gas and energy.

The consensus was reached between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and visiting Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa during their talks in Beijing.

Invited by Wang, Thapa is on an official visit to China from Dec. 24-29.

They exchanged views on high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields including cross-border trade, culture and tourism.

Both countries agreed to speed up work to resume the quake-disrupted highways linking the two countries, according to a press release after their talks.

China will import more goods from Nepal and help the country to enhance its own development capability. They also vowed to cement capacity cooperation.

Both countries agreed to discuss facilitating petroleum and gas cooperation to address the Himalayan country's shortage of energy.

Thapa told a press briefing that Nepal was grateful to China's supply of 1,000 metric tons of petrol at the time of acute shortage of fuel.

When asked whether stronger China-Nepal ties could lead to increasing competition between China and India, Wang said Nepal can become a stage for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and India, rather than an arena for competition.

Nepal's relationship with India is improving, Thapa said, expressing his hope that Nepal can strengthen relations with both China and India.

"China, Nepal and India are neighbors with naturally connected interests," Wang said, hoping that the three countries can interact in a positive way and toward win-win development.

China proposed the establishment of an economic corridor among the three countries to promote trilateral cooperation and common prosperity.

"Nepal's stability and development is in the interests of both China and India," Wang said.