China starts cargo service linking Guangdong, Tibet and Nepal

KATHMANDU: Dozens of Chinese trucks carrying goods worth USD 2.8 million left the border port of Gyirong in Tibet for Nepal after customs clearance on Friday, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported from Lhasa.

The new rail and road cargo service, linking Guangdong, Tibet and Nepal, aims to boost trade with Nepal as China pushes forward its Belt and Road Initiative, according to the report.

A train had ferried the goods from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, to Xigaze in Tibet, covering a distance of 5,200 km.

The trade passage is new and important one between China and Nepal, according to Xinhua.

To further facilitate trade, China is reportedly planning to build a railway between Xigaze and Gyirong to shorten the trip.

Quoting an official at the Tibet Autonomous Regional Department of Commerce, the report said, Tibet would build and reopen more border ports to expand the trade passage to South Asia.