The Nepali government and the King are capable of solving Nepal’s internal problems,” said the Chinese scholar, professor Wang Hongyu. “China does not want to interfere in Nepal’s internal affairs today”, he added, maintaining his comments were unofficial.

‘The emerging trends in international relations: Implication for Sino-Nepali ties’, a programme organised by China Study Centre here on Tuesday, invited discussion about China’s role in Nepal’s current affairs. “There should be more official level dialogues between the two countries,” said former secretary general of SAARC Yadav Kant Silwal.

Assuring China’s support on Nepal’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, Hongyu said, “We support the adopted measures of the Nepali government to maintain stability by combating activities of violence and terror.”

On potential business ties between the two countries, he said that the Chinese are aware of the Nepali market and they will soon be carrying out business here. “Nepal is a new market for China, but it will grow,” said Hongyu committing to bring businessmen of the two countries together.

Hongyu used to be the deputy director of Afro-Asian department in Shanghai Academy of Economic Sciences and is currently associated with private sector enterprises in China.

He also brought to attention that “Since Tibet has a closer proximity with Nepal compared to central China, Nepal could feasibly do regular business with Tibet”. He however stressed Nepal should not neglect the Chinese market since it is the “largest potential market in the world” and many products could be imported from China into Nepal.

He pointed out that the friendship between the two countries dates back to China’s Jin dynasty, when Buddhists of China were regularly visiting Nepal in search of Buddhist scriptures.

The marriage of Nepali princess Bhrikuti with Shongzanjulbu and the visit of artist Arniko to Tibet also strengthened the Sino-Nepali friendship. The first diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1955.

However, the year 2001 saw a major leap in the development of Sino-Nepali relations and the frequent exchange of visitors between Nepal and China. “Chinese Premier Zhu Rongjhi’s visit to Nepal was observed in the fourth meeting on bilateral negotiations in Beijing in 2001,” pointed out Hongyu.