Nepal seeks Chinas support to resolve energy crisis

Nepal’s foreign minister asked China on Friday  for help in dealing with an energy crisis that crippled the landlocked country over the past three months and China said it would look at the request favourably.

The Himalayan nation, which serves as a natural buffer between China and India, adopted its first post-monarchy constitution in September hoping this would usher in peace and stability after years of conflict.

But for the last three months, protesters have blocked trucks coming in from India, leading to acute shortages of fuel and medicine. Nepal has blamed New Delhi for siding with the protesters, a charge India denies.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Nepal’s deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa shook met at China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday. The two shook hands before sitting down for talks in the presence of delegations from both sides.

Wang said China was willing to look at ways with Nepal to help resolve its energy shortage.

“Both sides (China and Nepal) will encourage corporations from the countries to seek opportunities to carry out long-term oil and gas trade. We also would like to explore with Nepal how to better resolve the issue of energy shortage that Nepal has always been facing from a medium and long-term angle,” Wang told reporters at a news briefing after meeting with Thapa in Beijing.

Thapa said he had asked China to consider the long-term trade in petroleum products.

“I’m very happy to note that the government of China has instructed the concerned petroleum export authority to be in touch and discuss issues related with the long-term trade of petroleum products with Nepal,” Thapa said.

Nepal had been almost totally dependent on India for overland supplies following earthquakes this year that killed nearly 9,000 people and blocked crossings from China.

China reopened a border crossing with Nepal in October and said it was using it to send in the supplies.

Old rivals India and China have used aid and investment to court Nepal for years.

“For Nepal, there is no need to play each other. We have our own type of relations with India. Similarly, we have our special relations with China. So, I think we are very happy with that and will continue in future with that, strengthening relations with both countries,” Thapa said.

Wang said Nepal could become a place for win-win cooperation between China and India, rather than “a sports field for competitive games”.

“To maintain stability and to realize development in Nepal is certainly in line with interest of China and India. So in other words, Nepal is absolutely capable of being a platform for mutual trust and cooperation between China and India, rather than being a sports filed for competition. Thanks,” Wang said.

Thapa kicked off his six-day visit in China from Thursday at the invitation of Wang.