President Xi Jinping’s a two-day state visit to Nepal is a historic and highly successful event. It’s not just because of a visit by the Chinese President after 23 years. China has risen to the world superpower from the developing country with low income within this tenure. China, under the leadership of the Communist Party, has leaped from economic, and social development with a quick and enormous result that no one has ever achieved in world history.
Released from the pang of poverty in the last 70 years, right from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese government under the leadership of China Communist Party has succeeded to achieve respectable highest human goals.
It is only the Chinese government that enabled the people of China not only to embrace but also to experience the highest sense of dignity, self-respect and the enormous realization of human development. China is one of the leading investors in the frontiers specifically in the development endeavors. China is the biggest production house in the world with efficiency and quality. It is the first nation of tourist origination and the forerunner and the vanguards in the world investment on development and humanity. China is the first premier investor on foreign direct investment, it is the second source country of tourism in Nepal and together with this, it is an important cooperative partner in international development focused in Nepal. Nepal has a long history and shifts in paradigms for more than 23 years to get to the contemporary situation.
Climate change has threatened the survival of humankind. The shifts of the world order from the unipolar to multipolar after the cold war invited contradiction, tension, and depletions specifically experienced by the countries like Nepal. It is a historical event to have the President of the People’s Republic of China, who not only initiated to address the issues in question but also embarked on to materialize the economic and social development of the region. This visit has fueled to the dynamics and foreign affairs.
A joint statement after the visit has elevated the mutual bilateral relationship to a new height. It involves maritime access to explore the possibilities. Nepal and China are historical partners for mutual development and prosperity strategically. The conviction and consent of Nepal to collaborate with the BRI have envisioned and enabled access to the modernity on an unprecedented scale.
Now, we are morally obliged to objectify the vision. Multi-dimensional Trans Himalayan Connectivity as a part of BRI was mutually agreed between the two dignitaries in 2018 when the foreign minister of Nepal Pradip Kumar Gyawali visited China. That agreement turn-out to be a part of the mutual statement during the visit of Honorable Prime Minister of Nepal KP Oli. Thereafter, the state visit of the Honorable President of Nepal, Bidhya Devi Bhandari in April 2019 paved way for a cooperative initiation during the second BRI summit in China, which later became a part of the documents of the signatories involved.
The recent visit of President Xi Jinping has initiated to employ the agreed understanding into the implementation phase. During the visit, out of the 20 MOUs, 16 are related to trans Himalayan connectivity. This is our responsibility to implement the agreements systemically to execute.
Developing countries of the world are eager to be beneficiated from the Chinese institutions like Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, BRICKs, Silk Road Fund, among others. Developing countries are seeking a new model to ensure a collaborative development for common prosperity, at the same time benefitting the Chinese experiences in her achievements in science and technology.
The development models sponsored by the western community that involves institutions like the World Bank have not been able to foster prosperity in society.
For those very reasons, collaboration, equity base common stakeholdership, communications, and reconciliation are the foundational ground for mutual prosperity, compassion, and peace. Now Nepal is in a proactive mode to realize Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali, as envisioned by the current government of Nepal to realize the common dreams. Nepal has a propensity for economic development and investment opportunities sustained by a stable political environment. Nepal has declared 2020 as the Visit Nepal Year. China has a mission to farewell poverty in the region by the next year and working towards to institutionalize a prosperous, aesthetical, empowered and well cultural country within the coming 30 years.
This visit not only opens a space to express faith and confidence for the mutual benefits of these two countries, but it has also opened a window of opportunity with a sincere commitment from the President of the People’s Republic of China.
(Leela Mani Paudyal is the Nepalese ambassador to China and former Chief Secretary of government of Nepal)