Foreign diplomats inspect the Qinzhou automated container terminal in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Monday. [Photo by Zhang Li/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Developing trade-related infrastructure is an urgent task that China and Nepal must undertake to facilitate and promote beneficial cross-border economic activity, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, Nepal's resident ambassador to China, said on Tuesday at a meeting about the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

More than 20 diplomatic envoys from 17 countries in ASEAN, South Asia, Central Asia and Latin America participated in the meeting and an inspection organized by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Monday the diplomats were impressed by the automated container terminal at Qinzhou Port in Qinzhou city, a gateway for Southwest China.

Since the smart rail-sea intermodal terminal entered service last year, it has completed more than 250 tasks of optimizing systems, upgrading equipment and streamlining processes. The port's production efficiency has increased by 43 percent, authorities said.

"This terminal impressed me most, as Nepal is a landlocked country. Connectivity is key for the development of countries linking via ports, land, railways, aviation and other means of transportation," Shrestha said.

Qinzhou Port has opened 69 sea routes, allowing for direct foreign trade to all major ports in Southeast and Northeast Asia. From Qinzhou, goods can be shipped to 338 ports in 113 countries and regions.

"We are hopeful about further deepening the relations between Nepal and China. Nepal has signed agreement for the trans-Himalayan multidimensional connections between Nepal and China in 2018 to intensify bilateral cooperation in accelerating the development of multidimensional connectivity between the two countries," Shrestha said.

Diplomats spoke highly of the New International Land Sea Trade Corridor in western China, which plays a crucial role as a multi-nodal passage connecting countries and regions including the China-Indo China peninsula, China-Central Asia and Western Asia.

"It is an interesting fact that by facilitating logistics, commodity, information and cash flow, the corridor creates a new model of logistics, trade and industry that integrates transportation, logistics and economic activities in depth," Shrestha said.

Palitha Kohona, ambassador of Sri Lanka to China, hoped that a wider range of Sri Lankan commodities would enter the Chinese market through the New Western Land-Sea Corridor.

Foreign diplomats inspect the Qinzhou automated container terminal in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Monday. [Photo by Zhang Li/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign diplomats inspect the Qinzhou automated container terminal in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Monday. [Photo by Zhang Li/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign diplomats visit the China-Singapore Nanning International Logistics Park in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Tuesday. [Photo by Zhang Li/For chinadaily.com.cn]