Money
Nepali, Chinese companies sign deals worth $21.165m
Nepali and Chinese companies have signed 33 trade agreements worth around $21.165 million.Sanjeev Giri
Nepali and Chinese companies have signed 33 trade agreements worth around $21.165 million.
As per the deals signed in Kathmandu on Monday between representatives of business firms of the two countries, Nepal will export wool, wool bar, cowhide, leather, carpet, wood products, soap, red wine, peppermint oil, glycyrrhizin acid, rosin, scarves, shawls, jewellery and metal products to the northern neighbour.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Wang Dongtang, deputy director general of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce, China, said that the value of the pacts was equivalent to 96.2 percent of China’s gross imports from Nepal in 2016. “I hope that businesses of the two nations can deepen cooperation,” Wang added.
During the event, Chinese officials said that the two countries had a complementary field in economic and trade cooperation, and that Nepal was an important economic and trade partner for China in Asia.
According to the Chinese delegation, trade between the two countries has assumed a fast growing tendency in recent years. They added that Chinese products fulfilled the daily needs of the Nepali people, and that technical equipment from China fit the requirements of Nepali construction.
Addressing the event, Commerce Secretary Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya underscored the need to harmonize and simplify procedures, reduce trade barriers and increase investment from China to maintain a healthy trade relationship between the two nations.
He added that Nepal and China had a multidimensional relationship, and that trade and cooperation was one of the major dimensions. “This development will provide an enormous opportunity to Nepali exporters as well as Chinese importers,” Upadhyaya said.
Recalling that China is Nepal’s second biggest trade and investment partner, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong pointed to the possibility of cooperation progressing in a new direction under the Belt and Road framework.
According to Yu, China has extended support in five major sectors—infrastructure, livelihood, cultural renovation, disaster preparedness and health—in Nepal’s post-earthquake reconstruction drive.
“Apart from this, Chinese companies are involved in several road, hydro and airport projects,” Yu said. The envoy invited the Nepali side to participate in the China International Import Fair 2018. Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, president of the Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the development would yield fruitful results by bringing down the trade deficit.
The zero tariff facility extended to Nepal has remained underutilized due to several issues, and addressing them will help enhance trade ties between the two countries, he added.