In an interview with Chinese state mouthpiece Global Times (GT), Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song discussed the recovery of their bilateral trade in the post-pandemic period and the next stages of their cooperation.
On Infrastructure and Trade
Chen said he believed that China-Nepal trade and economic cooperation “will see faster implementation” following the construction of the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, which will help deepen cooperation in “energy, agriculture, animal husbandry and industrial parks.”
Calling the China-Nepal Railway “a core component” of the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, the ambassador said that the railway “will help Nepal realise its dream of reinventing itself into a land-linked country from a land-locked country.”
Agricultural Modernisation
Chen added that China is willing to support Nepal to accelerate agricultural modernisation, energy autonomy, industrial upgrading and transformation. This would also help Nepal ease its international balance of payments and accelerate economic development.
In an unusually critical & open display of Wolf warrior diplomacy the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song says "India's policies towards Nepal & other neighbours are not so friendly".
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) September 5, 2023
Vdo ctsy: Dainik news Nepal pic.twitter.com/QirROQ49sN
On further modernising agriculture in Nepal, Chen said that “in the next phase, China is willing to explore the idea of setting up a pilot area of agricultural cooperation” and “assist Nepal’s efforts to modernise its agriculture.”
Such efforts, Chen said, could help “improve Nepalese people’s livelihood and reduce poverty.”
At the same time, the diplomat assured that China will also help Nepal sell its agricultural products in the country. “China already offers zero-tariff treatment for 98 percent of Nepali exports to China,” he stated.
On Accusations of Debt Trapping Nepal
The diplomat stressed that China has “never forced any country to take loans, has never pressed debt from any country, nor attached any political conditions to the loan agreement.”
He added that the “debt trap” claim is “a narrative trap created by forces who do not want to see the accelerating momentum of growth by developing countries.”
“On the debt issue, developing countries know best from their own experience who is a sincere and reliable friend and who is a rumor-monger with ulterior motives,” he concluded.
Nepal-India Tensions
China’s outreach initiative comes as ties between India and Nepal have hit a rocky patch.
In July, Nepali PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda came under fire for insinuating that New Delhi can decide who becomes Nepal’s prime minister.
In June, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah announced that no cinema hall in the Nepali capital would be permitted to screen any Bollywood movie.
The order came three days after Shah gave a three-day ultimatum to the Indian filmmakers of the movie Adipurush to delete a dialogue that referred to Sita as the “daughter of India.”
In the same month, Nepali politicians from different political parties spoke out against the Akhand Bharat, or undivided India, mural in India’s newly inaugurated Parliament House.
The map on the mural shows Lumbini, Gautam Buddha’s birthplace, as a part of India. It also shows other areas, including Kapilavastu and Biratnagar, as a part of India.
However, Kathmandu has maintained that Lumbini is a major cultural centre in Nepal.