On July 7, local time, Vice Minister of Commerce of China Yan Dong and Finance Secretary of Nepal Ghanshyam Upadhyaya co-chaired the 12th meeting of the China-Nepal Joint Economy and Trade Commission in Kathmandu. The two sides had in-depth exchanges on bilateral economic and trade cooperation and other topics.

Yan Dong stated that China and Nepal share close geographical ties and deep people-to-people bonds. China stands ready to work with Nepal to fully leverage the role of the joint commission to promote the healthy and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. China intends to focus on strengthening trade, investment, infrastructure, and subnational cooperation, while expanding cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy and green economy to facilitate integrated trade and investment development. He expressed hope that Nepal would provide a better business environment for Chinese enterprises investing and operating in the country, and noted that the two sides should jointly uphold multilateralism, maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and safeguard the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.

Upadhyaya noted that Nepal and China have a long history of friendly exchanges, which have grown stronger over time. He thanked China for its long-standing support for Nepal’s economic and social development. Nepal attaches great importance to economic and trade cooperation with China and is willing to strengthen alignment of development strategies and enhance connectivity and trade facilitation. Nepal welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in the country and hopes China will continue to support Nepal’s national development and improvement of people’s wellbeing, thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

After the meeting, Finance Minister of Nepal Dr. Swarnim Waglé had a courtesy meeting with the Chinese delegation. (Released on July 8)