By Zhang Hongpei in Gyirong and Huang Ge in Kathmandu
With more goods and people moving through the port, Gyirong is set to play a larger role as a bridge of China-Nepal connections as well as trade and economic cooperation between China and South Asia under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
During the peak season, usually lasting from May to October, up to 200 trucks from Nepal go back and forth via the Gyirong gateway per day, Wang Fei, Chief of No.1 customs supervision section at Gyirong customs, told the Global Times.
Since Tibet’s Zhangmu port was damaged by an earthquake in Nepal in April 2015, Gyirong port has become a major gateway for China-Nepal trade, and the port has become more and more vibrant over recent years, said Wang.
Carrying traditional Nepali products such as copper containers, handmade textiles, Buddha beads and other Buddhism-related products, Nepali trucks can enter the Chinese gate after customs inspection.
They can then go directly to a commodity inspection venue, about 16 kilometers away from Gyirong Town, where many tourists stay overnight before they pass through the port and proceed to Nepal.
Soon, those products will be on the shelves of stores in the town.
Meanwhile, Chinese fruits such as apples and pears, along with garlic, seafood and small commodities for daily use will be loaded into the empty truck, which will then return to Nepal.
“Chinese products can be found everywhere in the Nepali markets, including such daily necessities as shoes, shirts and watches. They are cost-effective,” a Kathmandu-based driver named Samir told the Global Times.
“I love Chinese watches, which cost only 200 rupees ($1.8), compared with ones made in India, which cost 800 rupees,” said Samir.
Nepal is the largest trading partner of China’s Tibet, taking up half of the autonomous region’s total trade in 2018. Figures from the Department of Commerce of Tibet Autonomous Region showed that Tibet-Nepal trade hit 2.5 billion yuan last year, up 4.6 percent year-on-year.
Border trade up
Thanks to infrastructure improvements in Gyirong port and higher efficiency of customs clearance, China-Nepal border trade has increased greatly in recent years.
The border town of Gyirong has received more and more Nepali products and services, ranging from grocery stores to artisans making gold and silver products to Nepali restaurants.
According to the Gyirong customs statistics, border trade stood at 1,599.6 tons in goods in 2018, up 72.45 percent year-on-year, with a value of 12.33 million yuan ($1.84 million), up 58.93 percent.
Krishna Giri, a vendor in Thamel, a commercial neighborhood of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, told the Global Times: “I started doing business in the Chinese market four years ago, exporting handicrafts such as bronze statues and masks to Tibet through Gyirong port.
“The large demand in the Tibetan market driven by tourists brings great opportunities for Nepali vendors like me, and my Chinese business partners sell my goods to other markets in China such as Guangzhou, [South China’s] Guangdong Province,” he said.
He said his annual earnings can reach nearly 300,000 rupees ($2,723.68) from exports to the Chinese market.
Local people in Gyirong, about 99 percent of whom are Tibetans, can import Nepali grocery products worth up to 8,000 yuan per day duty-free, according to Wang.
Nima Cangjue, a local Tibetan, opened her store in 2007 with her Nepali husband in Gyirong, who is in charge of imports from Nepal. Their shop was the first store in town to sell Nepali goods.
“At that time, the Gyirong port wasn’t open. We hired workers to help carry the goods but the quantities were tiny,” she told the Global Times.
“The port’s opening has brought real benefits to our family. For example, as business improved, we expanded the store from a single wall to the current 20 square meters and we expanded our range of goods,” said Nima, noting that their profits average 200,000 yuan annually.
Vital influence
Tibet aims to diversify and increase its trade with Nepal, Zhang Fan, commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, told the Global Times.
Exports through Tibet to Nepal can diversify consumers’ choices and support the latter’s economic growth, Zhang said.
But challenges persist in bilateral trade because of geographical complexities, meaning that there’s no large-scale trade between the two countries, said Zhang.
“We hope to set up a cross-border cooperative zone with Nepal to improve the function of border ports and thus boost bilateral trade,” Zhang said, noting that a free trade zone between the two nations is still under discussion to enhance bilateral economic and trade relations.
Prem Sagar Poudel, President of the Nepal-China Mutual Cooperation Society, told the Global Times that Chinese entrepreneurs and culture are influencing Nepal’s people and society, and Tibet plays a vital role in connecting people from the two countries.
“Nepali people have harmonious and close relation with Tibetans, who have a similar culture and similar traditions, and we cannot break that relationship because of the mountain,” Poudel said.
Ganga Sherpa, a Nepalese who’s selling her country’s goods in Gyirong Town, told the Global Times that she came to meet her family in the town in 2014 for the first time. She decided to stay and opened a store.
“Tourists usually spend a night in the town before they head down to the port to Nepal. Chinese tourists want Nepal-made chocolate, tea, necklaces and souvenirs,” said Sherpa.
Mima Ciren, a Gyirong-based businessman, has been doing business with Nepalese for 31 years. He told the Global Times that previously, Nepalese with border residence certificates could only go as far as the Rasog Bridge, instead of the town itself.
“But now my Nepali customers can come to my store directly and check out products before they buy. Transactions are getting more frequent as trucks come and go almost every day,” said Mima.
More to expect
In 2017, Gyirong port was officially designated as an international port, open to third countries besides China and Nepal.
“Since then, a lot of pilgrims from India have chosen to head to the holy mountain named Kangrinboqe located in Tibet’s Ngari,” Wang said.
If Nepal wants to further boost its tourism industry, it can learn from Tibet’s experience. This process will also have a positive influence on the products, capital and people coming to Nepal, according to Zhang, the counselor.
According to figures provided by the management committee of Gyirong port, the number of people passing through for the purpose of tourism surged after the port’s opening-up. This group accounted for about 30-40 percent of all those who passed in and out of Gyirong port. Previously, the majority of people using the port were those living near the border.
Last year, 154,724 people passed via the Gyirong gateway to the other side, up 35,629 compared with 2017, according to the committee.
“Chinese people are changing their ideas about tourism and becoming more interested in such small countries as Nepal. It’s a trend that can strengthen bilateral understanding,” said Wang.
Jiao Shanshan, a white-collar worker based in Lhasa, told the Global Times that she’s planning a second trip to Nepal for rafting.
“I tried paragliding when I traveled to Nepal for the first time via Gyirong last year and it was good. The country’s consumption level is low but hotels are satisfactory,” said Jiao.
Source:Global Times
