China provides aid, sends rescue experts to Nepal after glacial collapse

China is delivering a package of assistance to Nepal, including emergency cash assistance and humanitarian aid, following a severe cross-border disaster triggered by a glacial collapse, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

During a phone conversation with Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, Wang said disaster relief supplies provided by China would soon arrive in Kathmandu.

Chinese tunnel rescue experts have been divided into two teams and dispatched respectively to the disaster-hit area and Kathmandu to assist with rescue operations.

China has also shared with Nepal important information, including imagery, satellite and hydrological data from the disaster-hit area, as well as early-warning information on barrier lakes upstream, Wang said.

Regarding Nepali citizens stranded on the Chinese side, he said China has made proper arrangements for them and will help them return to Nepal as soon as possible.

Wang said the sudden glacial collapse in the China-Nepal border area had triggered severe mudslides, causing significant casualties and leaving people missing on both sides.

He described it as the most serious cross-border disaster between the two countries in recent years, saying the complexity and difficulty of rescue and relief operations were unprecedented.

While carrying out emergency rescue operations on its own side, China immediately extended a helping hand to support Nepal's disaster relief efforts, Wang said.

Wang thanked Nepal for its efforts to rescue and evacuate Chinese citizens in Nepal and expressed hope that the Nepali side would continue such efforts.

In the face of the disaster, he called on China and Nepal to stand firmly together, work hand in hand to overcome the difficulties and demonstrate through concrete actions their traditional friendship across the Himalayas.

Khanal expressed sincere gratitude for China's emergency humanitarian assistance.

He said that although both Nepal and China had been affected by the disaster, China had overcome its own difficulties to immediately convey sympathies and provide assistance to Nepal, fully demonstrating the high level of Nepal-China relations.

Nepal will continue to work closely with China and make every effort to rescue Chinese nationals who remain trapped or missing, while working together to rescue missing foreign nationals, Khanal said.

He added that Nepal is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in post-disaster reconstruction, disaster prevention and mitigation, and climate change response, and to further advance the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries.