HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

HM’s visit to China to be significant: Envoy

Kathmandu, july 2 : The state visit His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev is going to pay to China from July 9 to 15 at the kind invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin will bear great significance, and have an active and far reaching impact on the Sino-Nepal relations in the new century.

This is stated by Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Congyong in a message prior to His Majesty ‘s visit to China.

In the message, he said China and Nepal are cordial friends separated only by a strain of mountains, and the friendly interaction between the two countries can be dated back to time immemorial.

As far as 1,500 years ago , a Chinese senior monk Fa Xian came to Nepal to pay his homage, he said adding, in the middle of 7th century, another famous abbot Xuang Zang also visited this Himalayan country and left some precious records about Nepal in his renowned work" the travelogue of the tang dynasty and the western world".

Pointing out that the marriage between Nepali Princess Bhrikuti and then King of Tibet Song Zan Gan Bu, which happened over 1,000 years ago, has become an eyewitness of the friendly ties betwen our two countries, he said the White Pagoda in Beijing was built by the craftsman Arniko 7 centuries ago. The friendly interaction between our two countries in history has constituted solid foundations for our nowadays ties.

After the establishment of diplomatic relations, with joint cultivation and due attentions from the leaders of our two countries, the bilateral understanding and friendship have maintained a healthy momentum, the binary cooperation is increasing and the traditional friendship has gained much headway, he observed.

In 1996, Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to Nepal, and agreed with late King Birendra to develop good neighbourly partnership geared to the 21st century from generation to generation, he recalled and said mutual trust, mutual equality and sincere cooperation are the basic traits to describe our current relations and the reason why our two countries can enjoy rapport is that both of us value sincerity in fostering our friendly ties.

Our two coutnries do not have any intractable problems left by history, and what we only have are friendship, goodwill, understanding and cooperation. China and Nepal extend sympathy and support to each other in the international arena. Sino Nepal relations have become a paradigm for good neighborly relations based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence, he also observed.

The development of our bilateral relations is not only in the fundamental interest and common asperity of our two peoples, but is also conducive to peace and stability in the whole region, and the congenial political interaction between our two sides has provided a firm bedrock for bilateral economic cooperation, he said.

In recent years, economic cooperation has seen a rapid development, the bilateral trade volume is hovering in a relatively high level, and cooperation in the joint ventures, joint management and contracting projects enjoy fast progress, he said.

Last year, the two sides signed the memorandum of under standing (MOU) on tourism exchange, and Nepal becomes the destination for Chinese outbound tourists, which will bind our two peoples more closely. China-Nepal non-government cooperation forum, as a new platform for the bilateral economic cooperation since its establishment, has helped to enhance the mutual understanding between the business communities of our two countries as well as to play an active role to accelerate the bilateral trade cooperation. The "developing west " strategy adopted by the Chinese Government has furnished a promissing vista for economic cooperation between Chinese Tibet and Nepal, he said.

Chinese government will consistently encourage Chinese Companies with strong economic strength to participate in the development process in Nepal and seek a common prosperity with Nepal, he said.

Pointing out that as a cordial friend of Nepal, China is much concerned about the latest development of internal situation in the country, he said Chinese government firmly supports HM and HMG’s efforts to restore peace and stability, and provides all assistance to Nepal within its capacity.

China always adheres to the principle of respecting Nepal’s sovereignty and independence, and non interference in its internal affairs. China is committed to be Nepal’s good neighbor and good friend in the days to come, and will always support and help Nepal. Whatever changes may happen in the international and regional scenario, the above-said policies will remain intact, he further said.

Recalling the history, he said we will never forget that the current sino-Nepal relations are cultivated between His late Majesty King Mahendra, father of the present king, and then Chinese leaders, Chairman Mao and premier Zhou. The late King Birendra visited China ten times, and made tremendous contributions to consolidate and develop our friendly ties.

Expressing confidence that the coming state visit by His Majesty King Gyanendra will further enrich the contents of our friendly interactions, and promote our bilateral relations to a higher level in the new millennium, the Ambassador sincerely wished that His Majesty ‘s visit to china will be a grand success.

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