China, Nepal to cooperate more on Belt and Road

BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday afternoon, and they agreed to cooperate more in jointly building the Belt and Road.

Xi said friendly ties between China and Nepal are in the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples.

At present, China-Nepal ties are developing soundly and the two countries maintain close exchanges between governments, parties and other levels, Xi said.

The president called for joint efforts to keep the positive momentum of bilateral ties and to create new prospects.

Xi called on the two sides to strengthen political trust, have more close exchanges and support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.

Both sides are expected to promote cooperation in connectivity, free trade arrangements, agriculture, industrial capacity, energy and post-disaster reconstruction, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said.

He said China and Nepal need to expand two-way investment and trade and promote balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade.

Xi also expressed his hope that China and Nepal will enrich people-to-people exchanges and enhance cooperation in tourism, culture, youth, media, as well as local cooperation.

China is willing to work with Nepal to cooperate more under the multilateral framework such as the United Nations, and coordinate more on issues like climate change and sustainable development.

Calling China a friendly neighbor, Dahal said Nepal appreciates China's long-time support, especially its valuable help after Nepal's earthquake in 2015.

Nepal adheres to the one-China policy and it will not allow any force to conduct anti-China activities in Nepal's territory, Dahal said.

Nepal supports China's Belt and Road Initiative, the prime minister said, noting that Nepal is willing to work with China to cooperate more in trade, investment, transportation, infrastructure, tourism, aviation and people-to-people exchanges to benefit the two peoples.

Dahal said Nepal appreciates China's important and positive role in international affairs and is ready to have close coordination and cooperation with China in international and regional affairs.