Maoist Chairman Prachanda talking to journalists after the informal talks with CPN-­UML and Nepali Congress leaders at Godavari Village Resort, Friday, July 14 06. Making a Point: Maoist Chairman Prachanda talking to journalists after the informal talks with CPN-­UML and Nepali Congress leaders at Godavari Village Resort, Friday, July 14 06. nepalnews.com/rh

Chinese ambassador to Nepal Sun Heping (File photo)
Chinese ambassador to Nepal Sun Heping has said the newly launched railway linking mainland China with its Autonomous Region Tibet will create an opportunity for a trade boom between Nepal and China.

“China likes to see Nepal benefit from the new railway, and is ready to create a win-win situation with Nepal by taking advantage of the new railway,” Heping said at a talk programme organised by the China Study Centre (CSC) in Kathmandu on Friday.

He added, “In recent years, the bilateral trade has been promoted largely. With the completion of the new railway, there will surely be much more convenience for the exchange of goods between the two countries.”

China opened the ambitious Qinghai-Tibet railway, which is 1,956 kilometres long with 960 kilometres of the track located at an altitude of 4,000 metres. The railway stretches from Xining, capital of Qinghai Province to Lhasa.

The possible trade boom, ambassador Heping said, would spur development of a number of related industries in Nepal such as tourism and service industries. With the launching of the railway in Tibet, travel between Nepal and China would be short and cost-effective, he added.

The Chinese ambassador’s comment came amidst hopes that the Chinese side would soon start expansion of the Tibetan railway network up to Khasa Bazaar, a commercial bordering Tibetan town adjoined with Sindhupalchowk district Nepal. Heping, however, didn’t say anything if the Chinese government was mulling expansion of the railway.

Khasa Bazaar is the main trade point between the two neighbours. Nepal and China launched the Kathmandu-Lhasa direct bus service in May 2005 but it has not been regular.

Speaking at the programme, CSC chairman Madan Regmi said the new railway is of high importance for Nepal also because of geo-political reasons. Likewise, Dr. Upendra Gautam, general secretary of the CSC, said that Nepali students in China, businessmen and tourists would also be benefited by the new railway.