SINDHUPALCHOWK: China has stopped more than 1000 cargo containers with goods imported by Nepali traders for Dashain and Tihar festivals in Khasa, a bordering town of China.
Nepali traders have said that Chinese authorities did not allow the containers to enter Nepal.
The Chinese authorities have been allowing a limited number of containers to enter Nepal.
According to Ashok Kumar Shrestha, President of the Nepal Himalayan Cross-Border Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this has incurred a hefty loss to Nepali traders.
Items such as clothes, apples, electrical items, and other goods meant for Dashain and Tihar festivals have been stuck at Khasa.
Narad Gautam, Chief of the Tatopani Dry Port Customs Office, said that the Chinese side has allowed limited containers to enter Nepal on a daily basis.
The Chinese side has been stopping containers to enter Nepal from the Tatopani checkpoint that has remained closed after the 2015 earthquake.
Economic expert Achyut Wagle said besides border encroachment by China, Nepal has been incurring trade deficit in the ratio of 1:30 with China due to its undeclared blockade.
“The question is: what would have happened in Nepal if India, too, imposed an undeclared blockade?” he asked, referring to what he said was competition to show oneself more nationalist by being vocal about the anti-Indian narratives in Nepal.
According to him, as many as 2400 containers carrying essentials goods to Nepal from China are stuck on the other side of the border suggesting redefining Nepal’s relations with China on the basis of uniformity, not political bias.
Former Ambassador Vijay Kant Karna, too, raised concern over China’s high-handedness and undeclared blockade in major border points, including Tatopani and Rasuwa, especially during festive season.
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