16.9 C
Athens
Δευτέρα, 4 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

China’s zero-Covid policy turns Nepal border towns into ‘dead’ zones as trade routes dry up

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

China’s zero-Covid policy is proving a major obstacle to the resumption of two-way trade with Nepal, with border closures causing a sharp decline in Nepalese exports to the world’s No 2 economy and losses for merchants.

China has kept its borders tightly sealed even as much of the world has reopened over the past year, leaving a backlog of trucks and mounds of rotting fruit stuck at some checkpoints it shares with neighbouring countries, such as Vietnam and Myanmar.

Nepal’s 1,389km-long border with China, including the two main crossings at Rasuwagadhi-Gyirong and Tatopani-Zhangmu, has been closed to the country’s exporters for the past two years, though a trickle of Chinese goods has been allowed to flow the other way.

Most of Nepal’s exports are snapped up by India, so the Chinese market is not considered critical. But the border restrictions have severely disrupted bilateral trade, stoked business uncertainty and affected indigenous communities and farmers who rely on cross-border commerce for their livelihoods, experts say.

Traffic moves along a road in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. Photo: Bloomberg

Traffic moves along a road in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. Photo: Bloomberg

- Advertisement -

China’s zero-Covid policy is proving a major obstacle to the resumption of two-way trade with Nepal, with border closures causing a sharp decline in Nepalese exports to the world’s No 2 economy and losses for merchants.

China has kept its borders tightly sealed even as much of the world has reopened over the past year, leaving a backlog of trucks and mounds of rotting fruit stuck at some checkpoints it shares with neighbouring countries, such as Vietnam and Myanmar.

Nepal’s 1,389km-long border with China, including the two main crossings at Rasuwagadhi-Gyirong and Tatopani-Zhangmu, has been closed to the country’s exporters for the past two years, though a trickle of Chinese goods has been allowed to flow the other way.

Most of Nepal’s exports are snapped up by India, so the Chinese market is not considered critical. But the border restrictions have severely disrupted bilateral trade, stoked business uncertainty and affected indigenous communities and farmers who rely on cross-border commerce for their livelihoods, experts say.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1dnFk3vc9Dw%3Frel%3D0%26mute%3D1%26playsinline%3D1%26frameborder%3D0%26autoplay%3D0%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.scmp.com%26embed_config%3D%257B%2522relatedChannels%2522%253A%255B%2522UC4SUWizzKc1tptprBkWjX2Q%2522%255D%252C%2522enableIma%2522%253Atrue%252C%2522disabledRelatedVideos%2522%253Atrue%252C%2522adsConfig%2522%253A%257B%2522disableAds%2522%253Atrue%252C%2522adTagParameters%2522%253A%257B%2522iu%2522%253A%2522%252F8134%252Fscmp%252Fweb%252Feconomy_chinaeconomy%252Farticle%252Finstream1%2522%257D%252C%2522nonPersonalizedAd%2522%253Atrue%257D%257D%26enablejsapi%3D1%26widgetid%3D1

Nepal’s newest China-built airport sparks tension with India

“Before Covid there were 80-90 containers coming in [to Nepal], but now in Rasuwagadhi, only three to seven come in a day and not more than 14,” said Vijay Kant Karna, Nepal’s former ambassador to Denmark and executive chairman of Centre for Social Inclusion and Federalism (CESIF).

At the Tatopani checkpoint, five to 10 containers are allowed into Nepal each day, said Karna, who visited the village two weeks ago and spoke to customs officers.

“It depends on Chinese officials,” he said.

Nepali exporters are faring even worse under the border restrictions.

In 2018, the value of Nepal’s shipments to China was 2.4 billion Nepalese rupees (US$18.8 million), but by the end of last year that had declined to 994 million Nepalese rupees, according to the Nepal Trade Information Portal.

China’s share of Nepal’s exports has tumbled from 2.84 per cent in the 2017-18 financial year to 0.5 per cent in 2021-22.

Around 50 per cent of Nepal’s exports to China crossed the border at Rasuwagadhi in 2017-18, said Posh Raj Pandey, economist and chairman at the South Asia Watch on Trade Economics and Environment. That figure was now zero, he added.

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Taiwan detects 6 Chinese military aircraft, 9 vessels around territory

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported Chinese military activity near the island on Tuesday and said that by 6 am (local time), six...

China Tries to Blot out Tibetan Criticism of Mining Firm’s Damage to the Environment 

Chinese censors are trying to prevent people from viewing posts that allege severe environmental damage in Tibet caused by sand mining. A young Tibetan man...

Protests erupt in Balochistan as citizens demand justice amid rising violence

Amid ongoing atrocities and lawlessness in Balochistan, a protest took place in Buleda as residents rallied for the immediate arrest of the killers of...

Chinese armed forces are not as strong as they seem, according to experts

China is seen as a formidable power due to its robust economic growth and military expansion in recent decades, but if experts are to...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Αμπελόκηποι: Γόνος ευκατάστατης οικογένειας ο 36χρονος που διαμελίστηκε στη γιάφκα – Είχε συλληφθεί μαζί με τον 31χρονο στη Γερμανία

Γόνος ευκατάστατης οικογένειας επιστημόνων που μαζί με τον 31χρονο μηχανολόγο – μηχανικό είχαν προσαχθεί και σημανθεί στη Γερμανία για επεισόδια σε πορείες είναι ο...

Αμπελόκηποι: Οι χειρόγραφες σημειώσεις «ξεκλειδώνουν» τις έρευνες της Αντιτρομοκρατικής – 5 κιλά εκρηκτικής ύλης εξερράγησαν

Σε πλήρη εξέλιξη είναι οι έρευνες της Αντιτρομοκρατικής για την έκρηξη αυτοσχέδιας βόμβας στο διαμέρισμα στους Αμπελόκηπους καθώς ήδη ταυτοποιήθηκε ο νεκρός. Από τα αποτυπώματά...

Aμπελόκηποι: «Μεταμφιεσμένοι» τρομοκράτες ετοίμαζαν εντυπωσιακό χτύπημα στην Αθήνα – Βρέθηκαν σχεδιαγράμματα

Νέα διάσταση στις έρευνες της Αντιτρομοκρατικής δίνουν τα ευρήματα απο νέες εφόδους που έγιναν σε τρεις οικίες και ένα όχημα των ατόμων που σχετίζονται...

Διάσταση απόψεων ανάμεσα σε μεγάλα ειδησεογραφικά δίκτυα! Πρίν ή μετά τις αμερικανικές εκλογές η απάντηση του Ιράν;

Οι New York Times, επικαλούμενοι τρεις αξιωματούχους που γνωρίζουν τον πολεμικό σχεδιασμό του Ιράν, ανέφεραν ότι η επίθεση θα γίνει μετά τις 5 Νοεμβρίου...