Kathmandu: China has opened trade through Rasuwagadhi border point from Monday. The two-way trade resumption ceremony, held at Kerung/Rasuwagadhi border port, was attended by Department of Commerce of Tibet Autonomous Region, the Lhasa Customs, the General Station of Immigration Inspection of Tibet Autonomous Region, the Health Commission of Tibet Autonomous Region, and other relevant departments, said the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu on Monday.
The Consulate General of Nepal in Lhasa was also invited. After the ceremony, six cargo trucks fully loaded with the Nepali goods went through the port and entered China.
Kerung border point has a long history. Since the eighth century, Kerung has been an important route of political, economic and cultural exchanges between China and Nepal. In 1961, in order to further facilitate bilateral exchanges, Kerung port was approved to open and in 1987 it was approved as China’s national first-level land port.
In recent years, Kerung port has continuously improved its infrastructure and customs clearance efficiency, leading to rapid growth of trade. The total import and export trade volume of Kerung port from 2015 to 2020 reached 14.71 billion Yuan, according to the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu.
The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic had affected trade with China through this border point. In April 2020, on Nepal’s request, the one-way freight clearance at Kerung port was reopened, which played an important role in ensuring the supply of medicines and other materials to Nepal, according to the statement.
During the pandemic, Kerung port continuously optimized the customs clearance process, and developed a new mode of container hoisting, and the maximum daily freight volume increased to 14 trucks. In 2021, when the pandemic situation in Nepal was serious, Tibet Autonomous Region provided a large number of medical supplies to Nepal through this port, including 30,000 liters of liquid oxygen.
This year, the Chinese side has worked overtime to complete the customs clearance of the election materials and the Dashain supplies. “Our port has become the gateway of friendship, development and happiness between the two countries,” says the statement.
The Chinese embassy in Kathmandu has said that the resumption of two-way trade from Kerung port will promote Nepal’s exports to China, reduce the trade deficit in Nepal, solve the trade imbalance, and further improve the connectivity between China and Nepal. “It will also help the two countries to complement each other and achieve mutual benefit, as well as jointly write a new chapter in deepening bilateral friendship, exchanges and cooperation.”
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