Ambassador of the People's Republic of China Zheng Xianglin formally inaugurated the secretariat of the Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( NCCI) in Kathmandu Tuesday.

Addressing the inaugural session of the secretariat, Zheng Xianglin said that although Nepal and China have enjoyed cordial political relationship in international arena, there are lot of things to be done to balance the trade deficits faced by Nepal.

Besides promoting trade from the existing custom point situated at Khasa, the government of China is working towards opening new custom point to further multiply economic activities between the two countries, said the Ambassador, adding that the opening of new custom point would help increase intercommunion of commodities.

He also expressed the view that with the opening of the NCCCI, six officials working in commercial counselor's office of China in Nepal would work together for promotion of trade relations between the two nations.

Also speaking on the occasion, President of the NCCCI Rajesh Kazi Shrestha said that Nepal is currently facing the trade deficit of at least 170 million U.S. dollars as the export of Nepali product is negligible compared to the import from the giant economies like China.

He said that although the government of China has declared zero- tariff in some Nepali products while importing in China, there are lot of homework to be done by both the governments to bring it in implementation level.

Only those goods that could be exported from Nepal should be included in the list of zero-tariff products, he added.

He said that the NCCCI has been established with the objective of rendering institutional contribution from the private sector towards promotion and extension of trade relations between the two countries.

The NCCCI would take further initiatives to multiply such understanding with other Chinese cities in the days to come, he added.

He also expressed gratitude to China for its assistance in the area of industrial, hydropower, transportation and educational sector and reiterated Nepal's viewpoint about one-China policy.

Shrestha said that Nepal has a lot to learn from its northern neighbor China which has proved the supremacy in the area of development and economic prosperity in the international arena. He expressed confidence that Nepal would amply benefit from the prosperity of China.

Source: Xinhua