China begins feasibility study on cross-border rail with Nepal

The Chinese ambassador to Nepal has said that China has taken the request of Kathmandu for building a cross-border railway line seriously and has begun a feasibility study, the media reported yesterday.In an interaction with the media on Friday, ambassador Yu Hong also said Beijing is working towards fostering a new type of international relations and to build a community with a shared future for mankind, the Kathmandu Post reported. Ambassador Yu expressed happiness over Nepal’s move to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and said the initiative has given wider opening for countries, including Nepal, to integrate the economy and people-to-people contact. Nepal signed up to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship BRI in May. Yu added that Nepal and China are working on several fronts like cross-border railway connectivity, highways and construction of a dry port. “China has taken the request of Nepal government of building cross-border railway line seriously. A team has begun preliminary feasibility study,” Yu said. Laying emphasis on Nepal-China relations, Yu said the two countries in 2009 forged a “comprehensive partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship”. Likewise, expansion of the Rasuwagadhi-Syafrubeshi road link, resumption of Araniko Highway and construction of dry ports in Tatopani, Rasuwa and Yaritoo are also on Beijing’s priority list. The Chinese ambassador’s interaction with the media in Kathmandu comes weeks after the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party Congress in China, enshrining “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” into the party constitution.China will deepen relations with its neighbours in accordance with the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of forging friendship and partnership, she said. “Not just the present, our future too is closely linked, which is why working together for a better tomorrow is a must,” Yu said.