China opens its first combined transport service to Nepal

[TianyaTaiwan]

China opens its first combined transport service to Nepal

On the afternoon of May 11, an international freight train departed from Lanzhou, the capital city of northwestern China's Gansu province. The final destination is Kathmandu, Nepal, but rail transport will change over to road transport in Xigaze, Tibet.

The whole journey will take 10 days and includes three sections: 2,431 kilometers of rail transport from Lanzhou to Xigaze, 564 kilometers of road transport from Xigaze to Geelong Port in Nepal, and 160 kilometers of road transport from Geelong Port to Kathmandu. Altogether, the combined transport takes 35 days fewer than traditional ocean transport would.

The train has 43 cars and 86 cargo containers carrying daily necessities and home appliances, according to the deputy general of China Railway Container Corporation.

The launch of the combination service will further promote the rapid growth of related industries in China's Gansu province, Qinghai province, Tibetan Autonomous Region and South Asian regions.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0512/c90000-9056831.html

 

[TianyaTaiwan]

China opens its first combined transport service to Nepal

 

[dy1022]

 

[BuddhaPalm]

Where trains can go, so can our mountain terrain light tanks.

 

[TaiShang]

Great work.

Economized engagement is always more sustainable in the long run than securitized engagement.

 

[GodToons]

Love the execution speed through which China delivers any project. India needs to learn to built infra for its growing population at this lightening speed.

 

[rott]

Where trains can go, so can our mountain terrain light tanks.

Lol...

 

[CHN Bamboo]

Freight train..?
What is the use of poor places like cities in Gansu province?
Tibet,Qinghai and Gansu,needy brethren.

 

[shah1398]

So China really is surrounding India from all sides....Or not? Good for Nepal in any case.

The train has 43 cars and 86 cargo containers carrying daily necessities and home appliances, according to the deputy general of China Railway Container Corporation.

 

[twocents]

So China really is surrounding India from all sides....Or not? Good for Nepal in any case.

China is doing all this at Nepali request. In fact Nepal has always wanted a northern route to lessen its dependence on transist through India. A college classmate of mine served as a Chinese diplomat in Kathmandu. Here are couple anecdotes I can still recall from our chitchat. Water in Kathmandu is heavy with minerals. For drinking and cooking they have to use bottle water or filtered water to prevent diarrhea. Indian diplomats love to boss the Nepalis around. Whenever Indian government is displeased at Nepal, indian diplomats charge into Nepali foreign ministry, pounding on desk and making demands.

 

[TaiShang]

India should focus on bigger picture instead of worrying about China-Nepal relations
By Hu Weijia

In Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu Province, Nepali capital Kathmandu's mayor Rudra Singh Tamang attended a ceremony on Wednesday for the commissioning of a new transport corridor linking Kathmandu with the Chinese city.

The ceremony came at a time when Nepal is trapped in a dilemma over how to deal with relations with its two most important neighbors - China and India. The recent strain in India-Nepal ties has coincided with China enhancing its economic ties with Nepal, which has aroused concerns in India.

Some Indian media outlets suggested the latest round of anti-Indian propaganda in Nepal came alongside Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli's decision to allow China to expand its strategic footprint in the country.

Such comments linking strained India-Nepal relations with increasingly close Sino-Nepal economic ties are misguided. It is understandable that recent news - such as China overtaking India in the list of top donors to Nepal - may touch a nerve among some observers in India, who still to some extent see Nepal as India's own backyard. But it is quite natural to see India's presence in Nepal decline as Nepal is striving to integrate itself into the world economy and diversify its economic relationships. Nepal forecast earlier this month that its economy would grow by only 0.77 percent this year, the lowest level in 14 years. To revive its economy, enhancing economic ties with China is an inevitable choice for the inland country.

The global economy is not a zero-sum game and increasingly close Sino-Nepal economic ties will not damage the interests of other countries. It is extremely dangerous to view China as an imaginary enemy of India and it could cause self-inflicted damage to the Indian economy.

India must try to avoid letting narrow-minded nationalist sentiment hit economic ties with China, and it should not push Nepal into a choice between the two countries.

If India is worried about the development of bilateral relations between China and Nepal, the only solution is to participate in regional cooperation. It is hoped that the three countries can put aside political disputes and promote cooperation in various business areas.

China, India and Nepal should join hands to boost overland trade thoroughfares from China through the Himalayas to South Asia.

This would be in line with the interests of all three countries, and would also help promote development in India's restive northeast region.

It is hoped that this could be a natural process to ease political disputes and ethnic problems through economic development. A more open Nepal is set to contribute greatly to regional economic progress and stability and India will certainly benefit from it.

 

[Tripoli]

This should strongly affect Nepali politics in favor of China. Good going China.