Nepal To Support One-China Policy
(Xinhuanet | December 9, 2002)
Nepali Foreign Minister Narendra Bikram Shah said here Monday that Nepal will further promote its friendly relations with China and will always support One-China Policy. "We want to enhance our special relationship with China, especially with China's Tibet Autonomous Region," Shah told a visiting Chinese delegation from the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The eight-member delegation led by Zhang Chongyin, general secretary of the Foreign Cultural Exchange Association, arrived here last Thursday for a seven-day goodwill visit at the invitation of Nepal Council of World Affairs.
"In my point of view, Nepal-China relation is older than the Himalayan mountains, so we have a special sense of belonging of the same family," Shah said, adding "If we join hands to develop trade and tourism at the two people's level, we will benefit a great deal."
He expressed the hope that the two sides would have more frequent interaction in the future.
Zhang Chongyin expressed his appreciation for Nepal's commitment to sticking to the One-China Policy and its support to China on the issues of Tibet.
The two neighbors have been cooperating in political, economic and cultural fields for hundreds of years. There are great potentiality to further promote the cooperation, especially in trade and economic ties, he said.
"One of our delegation's mission is to strengthen the contacts between the peoples of Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region," he noted, adding "Through frequently exchange of visits between high-level officials of the two sides, Sino-Nepali relations in tourism and economic cooperation will surely be strengthened." Zhang also explained China's policy on freedom of religious belief in Tibet.
During its stay here, the delegation will exchange views with Nepali Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation as well as leaders in the fields of information, business and foreign relationships.
Friends of Tibet (INDIA),
PO Box 16674, Bombay 400050
www.friendsoftibet.org