Beijing, 9 Sep (ZXS) -- On the occasion of the opening of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda paid an official visit to China from 26 to 9 September. During the visit, he was also invited to Hangzhou to attend the opening ceremony of the 23th Asian Games.

This is Prachanda's first visit to China since he became Prime Minister of Nepal for the third time. Through the three keywords of this visit, the outside world can read the latest trends in China-Nepal relations.

The first is the "Hangzhou Asian Games".

According to Nepalese media, the Nepalese government has made efforts to make Prachanda able to lead a delegation to China during the Hangzhou Asian Games, and the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations requested that Prachanda's speech at the United Nations be advanced by one day to stagger the two schedules. After addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Prachanda flew directly from New York, USA to Hangzhou, China.

Previously, he also made a special trip to see off Nepalese athletes at the Prime Minister's residence. Nepal sent a total of 253 athletes to compete in 29 events at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

According to Cheng Xizhong, a distinguished professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Prachanda not only modified his personal itinerary to visit China during the Hangzhou Asian Games, but also saw off athletes at the prime minister's residence, which is rare. This reflects his hope to build a bridge of friendship for the people of Nepal and China through sports, and further narrow the distance between each other.

Prachanda has visited China many times and made important contributions to promoting the development of Nepal-China relations. He is also associated with sports events held in China. In 2008, Prachanda visited China after becoming Nepal's first prime minister and participated in the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.

"The cultural and sports exchanges between China and Nepal have been quite successful, especially the head of the Nepalese government personally attending the opening ceremony of international sports events hosted by China, which has greatly promoted the friendship and mutual understanding between the two countries." Gao Liang, assistant researcher at the Institute of South Asian Studies at Sichuan University, said.

The second is "exemplary friendship".

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 68 years ago, China and Nepal have adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and set an example of equal treatment and win-win cooperation between countries, large and small. During Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Nepal in 2019, the relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a generational friendly strategic cooperative partnership for development and prosperity. In recent years, the two countries have had frequent high-level exchanges, and the two sides have maintained close coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs.

At the Hangzhou meeting, the leaders of the two countries made further plans and arrangements for the development of China-Nepal relations. Xi Jinping pointed out that the two sides should always understand and support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, and constantly consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations.

Prachanda said that Nepal firmly adheres to the one-China policy, Taiwan and Tibet are inalienable parts of China's territory, and Nepal will not allow any forces to use Nepal's territory to engage in acts that undermine China's sovereignty and security.

The outside world believes that the friendly interaction between the leaders of the two countries has further strengthened the cornerstone of political mutual trust between the two countries.

"Although China and Nepal have different national systems, size and strength, China has always firmly supported Nepal in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Nepal has also stood with China on issues of major concern to China." Cheng Xizhong pointed out that treating each other as equals and achieving mutual benefit and win-win results has become a bright background for China-Nepal relations. The latest interaction between the two sides once again explains that China-Nepal relations are a model of equal coexistence between large and small countries.

Gao Liang said that China has always treated Nepal as an equal, and Nepal has always respected China's core interests. Nepal's major political parties and political forces have a relatively broad consensus on the issue of relations with China, and friendship with China is the aspiration of the people.

The third is to "jointly build the 'Belt and Road'".

Prachanda's visit to China will continue until the end of this month. Before the trip, Prachanda said that Nepal sees China's development as its own opportunity, and the Belt and Road Initiative is expected to enhance multi-dimensional connectivity in the Himalayas.

The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has also become one of the keywords of this visit.

In the meeting on the 23rd, Xi Jinping said that the two sides should focus on promoting infrastructure connectivity and expanding transit transport cooperation.

Prachanda said that Nepal highly appreciates and will actively participate in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and promote the construction of a trans-Himalayan three-dimensional connectivity network, which is believed to greatly promote the economic development of Nepal.

In 2017, it was during Prachanda's second term as Prime Minister of Nepal that China and Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation along the Belt and Road. In recent years, China and Nepal have continuously achieved positive results in the construction of the "Belt and Road", and the trans-Himalayan three-dimensional interconnection network has begun to take shape.

In the cooperation between the two sides to jointly build the "Belt and Road", infrastructure construction is one of the key points, which is also the key topic of Prachanda's visit. Earlier, he said in an interview that "the current government has made the early completion of the relevant research of the China-Nepal railway one of its priorities." During the visit, the joint statement issued by the two countries also made it clear that the two sides agreed to promote the interconnection of ports, roads, railways, aviation, power grids and other aspects in an orderly manner, and jointly build a trans-Himalayan three-dimensional connectivity network.

In this regard, Cheng Xizhong said that the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" is one of the powerful measures to help Nepal transform from a "land-locked country" to a "land-linked country" at an early date, and the China-Nepal railway is a typical example. At present, the two sides have signed a technical assistance plan for cross-border railway engineering feasibility study projects, and China has also trained a number of railway technicians for Nepal. It is believed that with the efforts of both sides, this railway carrying the expectations of the two countries will eventually be completed.

"Nepal has diversified its external channels and economic resources through cooperation with China. The construction of transportation and energy infrastructure with China will become a key measure for Nepal to consolidate national independence. Gao Liang believes that in the future, the two sides are expected to continue to strengthen the docking of development strategies under the framework of the "Belt and Road", consolidate and expand pragmatic cooperation, and promote China-Nepal relations to a higher level. (End)