Nepali VP sees huge market in China for Nepali products

KATHMANDU, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun said on Saturday that China offered a huge market next door for Nepal if the Himalayan country is able to exploit proximity with China.

China is the second largest trading partner of Nepal after India. As of first half of the current fiscal year that began in mid-July 2017, Nepal imported goods worth 656.86 million U.S. dollars from China against exports worth 15.19 million U.S. dollars, according to Nepal's Department of Customs.

Pointing out the trade deficit with China, Vice President Pun said huge the population of China next door offered a large market for Nepali products which Nepal should be able to cash in on.

China has also offered duty-free access to more than 8,000 Nepali goods.

Speaking at the inaugural session of meeting of the Nepal Trans Himalaya Border Commerce Association, an umbrella organization of the traders involved in Nepal-China trade, Pun said Nepal could achieve economic development and prosperity by boosting exports like China did.

Currently, Rasuwagadhi-Geelong is the only border point operating between the two countries for international trade. The border point was affected by a devastating earthquake in 2015, but reopened a few months later. Enditem