President welcomes Nepal's participation in Belt and Road

China and Nepal should seize the opportunities of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative to push forward cooperation in such areas as interconnection, free trade, agriculture, production capacity, energy and earthquake reconstruction, President Xi Jinping said on Monday while meeting with Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The initiative, put forward by Xi in 2013, aims to revive the ancient trade route of the Silk Road with a focus on infrastructure. Mentioning that China and Nepal have maintained close contacts at all levels of governmental organizations and political parties, Xi called for continuous efforts of both to keep the positive momentum in developing China-Nepal ties.

China and Nepal should continue to enhance political trust and support each other in major issues that are related to core interests, Xi said. The two countries should expand two-way investment and trade, and promote the balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade, he added. The Nepalese prime minister expressed gratitude toward China's long-term support, especially its assistance for Nepal's reconstruction program after a devastating earthquake in 2015.

Nepal firmly sticks to the one-China policy, and it will never allow any forces to practice anti-China activities in Nepalese territory, he said. Nepal supports the Belt and Road Initiative, and the country is willing to cooperate with China in areas including trade, investment, transportation, infrastructure, tourism and aviation, he added.