Chinese solution to Indian blockade: Bring cooking gas via Panchkhal

Kathmandu, November 16. For a country reeling under a severe shortage of cooking gas, China has floated a proposal.

At a time when Nepal is exploring whether it will be possible to import petroleum products from Bangladesh via Indian territories, China has reportedly proposed establishing joint customs at Panchkhal and dispatching gas bullets up to there.

Nepal’s Ambassador to China, Mahesh Maskey, informed Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun about the Chinese proposal, the Vice-President’s Secretariat informed.

China’s Ambassador to Nepal, Wu Xuntai, reportedly said during talks held with Maskey on Sunday morning that his country is ready to send gas bullets up to Panchkhal by setting up a joint customs in Panchkhal.

“China has prioritised Kerung. But in Nepali territories bordering Kerung, the road is pretty narrow. This means bringing in cooking gas through Kerung is not possible. Let’s bring petrol, diesel and other goods via Kerung, let’s bring gas bullets through Tatopani,” Vice-President Pun’s personal secretary, Suk Bahadur Roka, quoted Ambassador Maskey as saying.

During a meeting with Vice-President Pun at the latter’s office in Bahadur Bhawan, Ambassador Maskey had informed that final preparations for an agreement on commercial import of fuel from China are underway, the secretariat said. Maskey is returning to China on Monday. China has not exported fuel as of now, Ambassador Maskey had said, adding: A trade deal on fuel import from China is taking time because China is drafting rules governing fuel import.

“There was talk of signing a trade deal on fuel import from China right after Tihar. So far, China has bought fuel rather than selling the same. There have been delays because China has to lay the rules for fuel export,” the secretariat quoted Maskey as saying. “The trade deal will take place in a few days,” the secretariat quoted Maskey.

It said efforts are afoot to bring gas bullets through Tatopani customs, noting that it will be difficult to bring gas via Kerung. Maskey had reportedly requested Vice-President Pun to take initiatives for the development of Panchkhal as a special economic zone as per an earlier announcement. According to the secretariat, Maskey pointed that China is willing to offer more assistance if the SEZ plan materialises.

Vice-President Pun said he is positive about the proposal on establishing a joint customs at Panchkhal and bringing gas from China up to that point, according to the secretariat. He pledged to press the government for development of Panchkhal as an SEZ.