World News | Xi Jinping’s visit has not had a substantial impact on Nepal-China relations

Kathmandu [Nepal]October 19 (ANI): Three years have passed since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Nepal in 2019, and there is little to show.

Writing in the Kathmandu Post, Anil Giri, a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics, said Xi came and Xi saw it, but Xi could not overcome the obstacles in the bilateral relationship.

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Described as a “watershed” in Nepal-China relations, a 14-point joint statement was issued and a 20-point list of instruments was signed and exchanged.

Xi Jinping has vowed to transform “landlocked” Nepal into a country “connected to the land.” Separately, during delegation-level talks with President Vidya Devi Bhandari, Xi Jinping announced aid to Nepal worth 56 billion rupees, Giri said.

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Although the money will be made available over the next two years, talks between Kathmandu and Beijing continue. Interestingly, the joint statement did not mention the 56 billion rupees promised by Xi.

According to the Kathmandu Post, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, a Nepalese diplomat in Beijing, said Chinese officials had been saying they had provided some of the 56 billion rupees in aid, including vaccines and other aid.

“As soon as we sit down with them for a meeting, we’ll know the details,” the diplomat said.

In addition, in the past three years, Nigerian and Chinese officials have not held a single meeting on the agreement signed during Xi Jinping’s visit to Nepal three years ago.

An important agreement signed during the visit was the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal and the Ministry of Transport of China on the feasibility study of the China-Nepal cross-border railway project. But Nepalese officials are still unsure when the research will begin.

According to a joint communiqué issued after President Xi’s visit, the two sides committed to implementing several projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, which Nepal signed in 2017.

The two sides agreed to strengthen the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road cooperation within the overall framework of trans-Himalayan multi-country cooperation to enhance connectivity, covering important components such as ports, roads, railways, aviation and communications. Dimensional Connectivity Network,” the joint statement said.

The goal is to “make a significant contribution to Nepal’s development agenda, including graduating early from a least developed country, becoming a middle-income country by 2030, and achieving the SDGs on the same day.”

But Giri said one of the projects Nepal has chosen under the Belt and Road Initiative has not started in the past five years.

In order to implement the “Belt and Road” project, the Nepalese authorities have communicated with the Chinese side, and the Nepalese side is more willing to provide grants rather than loans.

Another major announcement made by Xi is to transform Nepal from a landlocked country to a land-connected country. But in the wake of the pandemic, China has all but closed two key border trade points at Kyrung and Tatopani.

After President Xi’s first historic visit to Nepal in 23 years, Kathmandu fears Nepal will tilt north. But that didn’t happen, the Kathmandu Post reported. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)