China to provide 1st batch of COVID-19 vaccine aid for Nepal: Chinese FM

BEIJING -- China attaches great importance to Nepal's urgent need of COVID-19 vaccines and has decided to provide the first batch of vaccine aid for Nepal, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday. 

Wang made the remarks during a phone conversation with Nepali Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali. 

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Wang said, China and Nepal have helped each other, strived to work together to defeat the virus, and carried out sound cooperation in the anti-virus fight. 

China has been earnestly fulfilling President Xi Jinping's commitment to making Chinese COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, and is willing to facilitate the purchase of vaccines for Nepal, he added. 

In 2019, Xi's historic visit to Nepal lifted the bilateral relations to a new level, Wang said, adding that at the end of last year, Xi and Nepali President Bidhya Devi Bhandari exchanged letters and jointly announced the new height of Mount Qomolangma, sending a positive signal about the time-honored friendship and thriving relations between the two countries to the outside world. 

The two sides should continue to make every effort to implement the results of Xi's visit to Nepal and promote the continuous development of China-Nepal relations, he added. 

Gyawali, for his part, said that Nepal and China are all-weather friends. 

Nepal appreciates China's support for Nepal in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and will never allow any forces to engage in anti-China activities in Nepal, Gyawali said. 

The Nepali government and people are grateful for China's timely and valuable vaccine aid, and stand ready to continue to deepen anti-epidemic cooperation with China, he said. 

Nepal is ready to work with China to well implement the important consensuses reached by the leaders of the two countries, deepen cooperation in various fields and push for further development of bilateral relations, Gyawali added. 

The two sides also exchanged views on Nepal's domestic situation. 

Wang said that China adheres to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs and respects the development path chosen by the Nepali people. 

As a friendly neighbor, China hopes that all parties and factions in Nepal will bear in mind the fundamental and long-term interests of the country and its people, seek common ground while shelving differences, and maintain unity and stability, so as to create favorable conditions and environment for its own development and prosperity, Wang added.