KATHMANDU, Jan. 8 -- China donated modern office equipment including DVD players, computers, scanners worth over 800,000 Chinese yuan to the Research Center of Nepal National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) here on Wednesday.

According to the Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Wu Chuntai, these items are the forth batch of donation by China to Nepal since 2013, highlighting the commitment by the Chinese government to further strengthen cooperation with the government of Nepal.

The Chinese envoy said at the hand-over ceremony that he hopes the center to make full use of these office equipment and to play a more positive role in protecting natural environment and biological diversity.

Tek Bahadur Thapa Gharti, minister of forests, soil conservation and agriculture and chairman of NTNC, expressed his appreciation and respect for China's assistance to build the center in the past and additional support of providing office equipment at present.

As the first development cooperation project between the two countries, the Research Center of NTNC, funded by the Chinese government, started construction with Chinese assistance in 2005 and completed in 2009.

The minister said since 1984, the NTNC has been playing a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity in Nepal, where 23 percent of the land is protected area.