China along with Nepal has opened the highway link of around 40.4km highway between Xigaze airport and Xigaze city center in Tibet to public.
This highway link will link the Chinese highways to the Nepal’s national border, which will enhance the tourism, trade and the strategic alliances in the South East Asia.
The international relation experts believe that the development will enable China to forge a route into South Asia in both economic and defence terms.
The short road section, opened on Friday, will shorten the journey from an hour to 30 minutes between the dual-use civil and military airport and Xigaze (also called Shigatse), the second largest city of Tibet.
The highway road runs parallel with the Xigaze-Lhasa railway line which is linking the 5,476 kilometer G318 highway from Shanghai to Zhangmu on the Nepal border.
This new highway can link with the future cross-border Sino-Nepali railway.
The Sino-Nepali railway, which passes through the Chinese border town of Zhangmu and connects with routes in Nepal, will be the first railway by which China enters South Asia.
The Sino-Nepali railway was part of a deal struck by Nepal Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara when he visited China in early September.
“The railway includes two lines, one of which is connecting three of Nepal’s most important cities and two crossing the border between China and Nepal.
