China, Nepal agree on building a trans-Himalayan network

BEIJING (Reuters) – China and Nepal have agreed to build the so-called Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, the Chinese foreign ministry said, following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

As part of the agreement, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China would finance the feasibility study of a China-Nepal cross-border railway and send experts to Nepal to conduct surveys this year, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson at the foreign ministry, told a regular media briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

The network, under China’s Belt and Road initiative, will involve the building of railways and communication networks. During a landmark visit by President Xi Jinping to Nepal in 2019, China and Nepal elevated their relationship to a “strategic partnership”.

(Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard; writing by Ryan Woo; editing by Jason Neely)