Xi Jinping wraps up meet, leaves for China; Nepal and China sign 18-point

Kathmandu / Oct 13: President of People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, wraps up his two-day state visit to Nepal, a first in 23 years for a Chinese President, with an aim to boost bilateral ties.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with his delegation, left for China today by an Air China aircraft, concluding his 20 hour visit, which has strengthen Sino-Nepal relations.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Vice President Nanda Kishor Pun, along with various ministries were present at the airport to bid farewell to Xi Jinping.

High level delegation talks were held with multiple leaders during his two day state visit where leaders of both the nations signed various Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) including trans-himalayan railway, infrastructure projects, technical university among others.

President Bhandari hosted a state banquet in honour of her Chinese counterpart including many high ranking officials at Megha Malhar Hall at Soaltee Crowne yesterday.

The final meeting which was held today with PM Oli focused on all aspects of Nepal-China relations, marking the end of President Xi’s programme in the capital.

The Chinese President also met with the president of the main opposition party Nepali Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba where he discussed ways to strengthen the ages-old bilateral ties between Nepal and China.

Furthermore, a one-to-one meeting with the co-chair of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Pushpa Kamal Dahal was held in the morning.

In his two-day visit, Kathmandu turned into a fortress for 2 days bringing traffic in the capital to a halt for dignitaries.

Various places in the capital including, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Tinkune, Baneshwar, Babarmahal, Naxal, Tripureshwar, Bhadrakali, Kesharmahal, Durbarmarga, Sundhara, Nagpokhari, Hattisar, Kalimati, Solteemode was decorated to welcome Chinese dignitaries. Streets were transformed by planting flowers and streetpoles were adorned with portraits of Bhandari and Jinping.

It is expected that Xi Jinping’s visit will further help promote Nepal’s mega campaign of Visit Nepal Year 2020.

Following is the list of deals exchanged between Nepal and China:

Agreement between the Governments of Nepal and the People’s Republic of China on the Boundary Management System

MoU between the Governments of Nepal and the People’s Republic of China on the Exchanges and Cooperation on Governance Capacity Building

Treaty between Nepal and the People’s Republic of China on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters

MoU on Mount Sagarmatha/ Zhumulangma Protection Cooperation between Nepal and China

MoU on Promoting Key Projects of Investment and Cooperation on Productive Capacity between the National Planning Commission of Nepal and the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China.

Exchange of Note for Setting up a Consulate General of Nepal in Chengdu

MoU between the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal and the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China on Feasibility Study of China-Nepal Cross-Border Railway Project.

Agreement between Kathmandu Metropolitan City of Nepal and Nanjing City of the People’s Republic of China on the Establishment of Sister-City Relationship.

Agreement between Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City of Nepal and Xi’an City of the People’s Republic of China on the Establishment of Sister-City Relationship.

MoU on Cooperation on Traditional Medicine between the Ministry of Health and Population of the Government of Nepal and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People’s Republic of China.

MoU between the Ministry of Home Affairs of Nepal and the Ministry of Emergency Management of the People’s Republic of China Regarding Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response.

MoU on Cooperation between the Supreme People’s Procurator of the People’s Republic of China and Office of the Attorney General of Nepal

Agreement between Tribhuvan University of Nepal and Confucius Institute Headquarters of China on the Establishment of Confucius Institute at Tribhuvan University.

Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Citrus Fruits from Nepal to China between Department of Agriculture of the Government of Nepal and General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China.

MoU between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of the Government of Nepal and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on the Establishment of Joint Working Group on Trade

Delivery and Acceptance Certificate for the China-Aid Earthquake Monitoring Network Project in Nepal

MoU on Establishment of Investment Cooperation Working Group between the Ministry of Finance of Nepal and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China

MoU between the Ministry of Finance of Nepal and China International Development Cooperation Agency on Tunnels Construction Cooperation

Exchange of Letter for Border Security Equipment and Office Equipment

Minutes of Meeting for Feasibility Investigation of China-Aid Municipal Water Supply Improvement Project in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal