By Ren Huanyu
At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepali President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the second informal meeting with Modi and pay a state visit to Nepal from Oct. 11 to 13.
Xi’s upcoming trip to South Asia is expected to enhance the mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation between China and the two countries and inject new impetus into China-South Asia relations.
China and India, as important neighbors for each other, are both developing countries and emerging economies. Besides, they are the only two countries in the world with a population of more than one billion.
In recent years, Xi and Modi have created a new type of diplomacy by visiting each other’s hometowns, and met on many occasions such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, the BRICS summit and the Group of 20 (G20) summit. They have reached important consensuses on developing bilateral ties, guiding the two countries to maintain sound momentum for China-India relations.
In April, 2018, the two leaders had their first informal meeting in Wuhan, capital city of central China’s Hubei province, creating a new model of high-level exchanges between the two countries. It marked a new stage of steady growth of the China-India relations.
Xi and Modi will soon hold their second informal meeting, in which the Chinese President will conduct in-depth communication with Modi on issues of strategic, long-term and overarching significance concerning bilateral relations, set the tune and guide the direction for future development of bilateral ties, and make a unanimous voice to the world together with India, so as to inject positive energy and stability into the world full of uncertainties.
China and Nepal are close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, sharing close connections in history, geography and culture. Since the two countries established diplomatic ties 64 years ago, they have treated each other on equal footing with mutual respect and support, providing a model of mutually beneficial cooperation between countries that are different in social system and size.
Nepal has maintained its unwavering commitment to One China Policy, and the government is committed to not allowing any activities targeted against China in its territory.
China has always supported Nepal in exploring a development path that suits its reality, as well as maintaining political stability and expediting its national development.
China and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, injecting vitality into bilateral collaboration.
With concerted efforts from both countries, a series of infrastructure projects aiming at improving livelihood and promoting development have landed in Nepal.
Xi’s visit to Nepal will be the first one paid by a Chinese President in 23 years, during which leaders of the two countries will make new blueprints for the development of bilateral relations and usher in a new era of fast development for China-Nepal ties.
The Chinese nation has always valued good neighborliness. Keeping its word and promoting harmony with neighbors has been a tradition of the country. Taking the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness as guidelines of its neighborhood diplomacy, the country has always been building friendship and partnership with its neighbors.
China and India are both ancient civilizations and share a long history of cultural exchanges. Indian movies and food are popular in China and Chinese electronic products and traditional medicine are also well received by the Indians.
The two countries have held two meetings of high level mechanism on cultural and people-to-people exchanges since Xi and Modi met in Wuhan, making a climax of China-India cultural exchanges.
Although separated by the lofty Himalayas, the Chinese people and the Nepalese people have maintained a close friendship for a long time.
The two countries have made steady progress in practical cooperation. China now is Nepal’s largest source of foreign direct investment, and second largest trading partner and source of the tourists. Up to 60 flights are flying between the two countries on a weekly basis.
At present, the international society is faced with a fluid situation, yet the trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation remains irreversible, as stability and development are a common aspiration of regional countries.
A sound China-India relationship will not only promote the development of the two countries, but also facilitate world multi-polarization and economic globalization. It will also safeguard multilateralism, free trade and the common interests of developing countries.
Nepal is an important partner of China for the promotion of Belt and Road cooperation in South Asia. The high-quality construction of the Belt and Road by the two countries will contribute to regional collaboration and connectivity.
It is believed that Xi’s trip will enhance the mutual trust between China and South Asian countries including India and Nepal, open up new space for strengthening regional connectivity and economic and trade cooperation, and set up new platforms for enhancing mutual trust and friendship in the region.
