The China-South Asia Expo, in which Nepal is an active participant, has started from Thursday in the city of Khunming in the southern Yunnan province of China.

When the first edition was organized in 2013, the then Vice President Parmanand Jha was present. This expo is a platform that China has started to promote the South Asian market . Along with the expo, the 29th Khunming Import-Export Fair is also ongoing.

In the past, the presence of the Vice President, Speaker, Minister, etc., was attended by the ambassador from Nepal in the ninth edition of the Expo. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress Wang Tongming welcomed the leaders and business representatives of South Asian countries.

He said that in recent years, China and South Asian countries have followed the spirit of openness, cooperation and inclusion, and pointed out that practical cooperation in various fields has been intensified, economic and trade development has been maintained at a good pace, and results have been achieved that benefit the people of all countries . He said, ``The mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides has laid a strong foundation for deepening the traditional friendship between China and the South Asian people . has set an example for regional development.'

Expressing China's desire to integrate its development more closely with the development of South Asian countries, Wang said that on the basis of peace, prosperity, beauty and friendship, China will continue to increase strategic mutual trust, firmly protect multilateralism, and actively promote practical cooperation, mutual learning and benefit. He added, 'China's ambition is to build a community with a common future for the neighboring countries and to create a happy future.' Nepali Ambassador to China Krishna Prasad Oli participated in the

ceremony.

Oli, remembering that it is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal, said that Chinese investment support is expected in the fields of trade, tourism, agriculture, energy, information technology, connectivity, health, etc. He said that Nepal is not land-locked and the cooperation with China is rooted in land.

Saying that China has provided a good platform for regional exchange, Ambassador Oli discussed the need to increase cooperation and cooperation with South Asia due to natural resources, cultural diversity, vibrant markets and huge potential.

The 9th China-South Asia Expo will continue from June 19th to 24th with the theme of "Unity and Cooperation for Common Development". This activity, jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce of China and the People's Government of Yunnan Province, is one of the important economic and trade exchange activities between China and South Asian countries. Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka, UAE, Vietnam and other countries have participated in the expo and more than 120 exhibitors from Nepal have participated in the expo. Out of 1,200 stalls in the total 17 pavilions of the

fair, 120 Nepali businessmen have exhibited handicrafts, Buddha statues, tea, coffee, pashmina, woodwork, sculpture, thangka, Nepali paper products, Rudraksha, Buddhachitta, herbs and other items. Suresh Dhakal of United Handicraft Industries, who participated in the demonstration, told Kantipur that the importance of handicrafts is decreasing and they are being ignored by the political level of Nepal. He said, "Nepal's new product is nothing". The political environment has also influenced it.'   

He said that he was upset that Nepal did not show much interest in the exhibition. He said that the representatives of every country reached their respective stalls and shared their enthusiasm, "The 4 largest rooms in the exhibition belong to me, but the face of no special Nepali guest has been seen."    

On the first day of the exhibition, only a limited number of visitors entered, the second day was rainy, so he is hoping that the business will increase on Saturday or Sunday, a holiday.

Vice President Jha at the first Expo 2013, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in 2014,  Commerce Minister Sunil Bahadur Thapa in 2015, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun in 2016, Kathmandu in 2017 as a foreign country, again in 2018, Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav in 2019, 2023, Vice President of National Assembly Vimala Ghimire in 2024 participated. Anuparanjan Bhattarai, Chairman of the Nepal-China Executive Council, recalled that except for foreign countries and the Corona epidemic, Nepal has high participation in almost all expos. According to