CHENGDU: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Nepalese Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on Friday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the two sides have made joint efforts to promote cooperation on all fronts, make progress under the Belt and Road Initiative and advance the building of the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network.
China is ready to work with Nepal to embrace new prospects for the development of China-Nepal relations by taking the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year, he said.
Arzu Rana Deuba said Nepal firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and will never allow other forces to make use of Nepal’s territory to engage in any activities that oppose China and harm China’s interests.
The Nepalese foreign minister said that Nepal appreciates the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and is willing to participate in the Global Development Initiative.
DPP authorities responsible for cross-Strait travel obstacles: spokesperson
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Friday stressed that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities should bear full responsibility for the obstacles facing the cross-Straits travel.
Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to the DPP authorities’ accusation that the mainland is to blame for travel obstructions across the Taiwan Straits.
Chen noted that since 2020, the DPP authorities have banned mainland residents from visiting Taiwan and prohibited local travel agencies from organizing group tours to the mainland, using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse.
To date, the DPP authorities still ignore the appeal of the tourism industry and the Taiwan people to lift travel restrictions. They even upgraded an alert for Taiwan residents traveling to the mainland, he said.
Chen reaffirmed that the mainland will take active measures to expand residents’ travel to Taiwan as long as the DPP authorities stop obstructing cross-Straits exchanges.
The mainland announced the resumption of Fujian Province residents’ travel to Kinmen and Mazu earlier this year. As of October 31, mainland immigration authorities had processed 58,735 travel permit applications for travel to the two islands, according to the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.
