Right Honorable Mr. Parmanandh Jha, Vice President of Nepal,
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Upadhyaya, Officiating President of Nepal-China Executives Council,
Mr. Trilokeswor Malla, Managing Director of Direction Nepal P. Ltd,
Senior Representatives from Friendship Organizations of South Asia Countries,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Namaste!
I feel glad to attend the Inauguration Ceremony of South Asia and China Trade Fair 2011. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, I would like to take this opportunity to express my congratulation and gratitude to Nepal-China Executives Council for their long-term efforts in promoting trade and exchanges between China and Nepal.
During the past few years, Nepal-China Executives Council has held several Chinese trade exhibitions in Kathmandu successfully. These exhibitions have opened a window for Chinese commodities to enter South Asian market, and also served as a bridge for information exchanges between the two sides. There are 15 booths for Chinese commodities in this year’s trade fair, exhibiting LED lamps, hydroelectric equipment, electronic devices, mobile phones, textiles and clothes. I hope these Chinese products of high quality and reasonable price will bring pleasure and surprise to the Nepalese people.
The role of South Asia in the world’s economic arena has become more and more important. Meanwhile, the economic and trade cooperation between China and South Asia has witnessed a rapid growth. The trade volume between the two sides reached 70 billion US dollars that was a 13-time increase within 10 years. Sino-Nepal economic and trade relations also have a good momentum of growth. Last year, the trade volume of the two countries was more than 700 million US dollars. The Chinese products are very popular in Nepal’s market, such as laptops, communication apparatuses, mobile phones, compact discs, clothes, wool, shoes, and apples. In order to promote its trade cooperation with South Asia, China has taken a series of facilitating measures including reducing tariff on goods imported from South Asia, among which a zero-tariff policy has been implemented towards 4810 items originating in Nepal that have covered main export commodities of Nepal. The zero-tariff policy is a tangible measure taken by the Chinese government to address the trade imbalance between the two sides. In the days to come, the Chinese government will give zero-tariff benefit to more and more products originating in Nepal. I hope the Nepalese enterprises can take the good chance to promote their exports to China.
To push forward the development of trade relations between China and Nepal, the Chinese government has played an active role in supporting and helping the South Asian countries to construct infrastructure and train human resources. China’s support of building a dry dock at Tatopani will improve the cargo handling capacity of the Nepalese customs. The road from Syaprubeshi to Rasuwagadhi, called a second trade channel between China and Nepal, will be completed by the end of this year. I believe that this new trade road will strengthen the strategic position of Nepal in the South Asian trade network. Every year, the Chinese government holds many training courses and symposiums on trade, commodity inspection, customs, and industrial production for officials and businessmen from South Asian countries and affords their training spending in China. All the measures mentioned above have embodied China’s sincerity to develop friendly relations with South Asian countries.
The Chinese government holds South Asian Countries Trade Fair each year in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province of China. In June of this year, Nepal-China Executives Council has organized a large number of Nepalese businessmen to participate the 4th South Asian Countries Trade Fair in Kumning and gained a big success. In the coming November, the 13th Nepal and Tibet Trade Fair will be held in Kathmandu, which will attract many Chinese enterprises to participate. Here, I sincerely welcome all friends present today to join the event.
Right Honorable Mr. Parmanandh Jha, who attended the inauguration ceremony of South Asia and China Trade Fair last year, is attending the inauguration ceremony for the second time. I would like to express my sincere respect to Mr. Jha. I also want to thank all the friends of China and South Asian countries for their presence today. I wish South Asia and China Trade Fair 2011 a complete success!
Thank you.