However, Nepali officials attending the bilateral trade talks expressed doubts on Chinese assurances as Nepal has repeatedly received such assurances in the past as well. [break]
Good development though is that Beijing has responded positively to Nepal´s call to open a branch of Chinese bank in the country - a move that is expected to address long-running problems related to payments.
“The Chinese side has assured us that they are ready to open a branch of Chinese bank in Nepal. They have promised to take up matter with the central government,” said Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS).
During the two-day talks that concluded on Tuesday, Nepal had sought Chinese assistance to give leverage to its exports by ensuring transparency in customs, providing trade-related services and supporting development of trade-related infrastructures.
Traders involved in Nepal-China trade have been raising a host of issues like problems in making payments, undisclosed and stringent quarantine rules, frequent changes in customs rules without due information, and mistreatment of Nepali traders by Chinese officials in bilateral trade.
During the Nepal-Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee (NTTFC) -- a top level forum for bilateral trade talks, the China delegation agreed to eliminate non-tariff barriers. It also promised to strengthen capacity of existing customs, open trade through other customs points and simplify quarantine system to facilitate cross-country trade.
The Chinese side also assured Nepali officials on effective implementation zero-tariff facility being provided by China to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including Nepal. A total of 361 Nepali items being exported to the northern neighbor are eligible for zero-tariff facility offered by China to a total of 4,721 goods imported from LDCs.
Nepali officials said removal of non-tariff barriers would mean nothing if Nepal failed to improve quality of products to be exported to the world´s second largest economy. “We can´t narrow down the ballooning trade deficit with China unless we increase our capacity to boost exports by improving quality and quantity of Nepali exportable goods,” Gyawali, the leaders of Nepali delegation, told Republica.
He said China has agreed to expedite construction of dry port in Larcha near the Tatopani customs, build clearance function port in Kerung customs in Tibet by 2013, boost capacity of Nepali traders and activate working group -- the local authorities -- to settle trade related issues at local level.
“Working group will try to settle trade related problems, including quarantine and customs related issues, and refer to the central authority if the issues cannot be resolve at the local level,” added Gyawali.
The Chinese delegation also agreed to encourage Chinese businessmen to invest in Nepal in three key sectors -- agro-based industries, hydropower and tourism. The two sides agreed to organize Nepal-China Tibet Economic and Trade Fair in Kathmandu from 2-6 Nov.
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