The China–Nepal border is the international boundary between the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China and Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. It is 1,389 kilometres (863 mi) in length and runs in a northwest–southeast direction along the Himalayan mountain range, including Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain.[1] The boundaries of this particular border have changed dramatically over time, especially when considering relatively recent events such as the Annexation of Tibet in 1949. However, some of the most significant developments of modern times would be the signing of the『Agreement on Maintaining Friendly Relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Nepal』in 1956 and the "Sino-Nepalese Treaty of Peace and Friendship" in 1960, both of which formally recognised Tibet as a part of China and confirmed the limits of the countries of China and Nepal as they are known today.[2][3]
Mount Everest, as seen from Ronguk monastery in Tibet
The border starts in the west at the western tripoint with India near the Tinkar PassinSudurpashchim Province.[4] It then proceeds south-east to the Urai Pass and then north-east, briefly utilising the Karnali River, before turning to the south-east at the Lapche Pass. It then proceeds in that general direction over various mountains crests in the Himalayan range, including Mount Everest, Mount Makalu and Mount Salasungo, as passes such as the Manja, Thau, Marima, Pindu, Gyala, Lajing and Popti Passes.[5] It terminates at the eastern tripoint with India on Jongsong Peak.[5]
The border region has historically existed at the edges of various Nepali, Indian and Tibetan kingdoms.[5] Cross-border trade between Nepalis and Tibetans has existed for centuries, for example in wool, tea, spices and salt.[6][7] Though various Nepali-Tibetan treaties were signed in the 18th-19th centuries, these concerned the ownership of often vaguely-defined territories rather than with delimiting a precise boundary.[5]
In 1950-51 China annexed Tibet, and thereby inherited the somewhat confused situation along the boundary.[8] On 21 March 1960 a border treaty was signed which recognised the "traditional customary line" and created a joint boundary commission to delimit a more precise border.[5] Having completed their work, a final boundary treaty was signed on 5 October 1961.[5] The border was then demarcated on the ground with pillars, and a final protocol signed on 23 January 1963.[5]
The western China–Nepal–India tripoint is disputed between Nepal and India since 1990s as part of Kalapani territory. In 2015, the Nepalese parliament objected to the agreement between India and China to trade through Lipulekh stating that 'it violates Nepal's sovereign rights over the disputed territory'.[9] After Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in 2015, India and China agreed to open a trading post in Lipulekh, raising objections from Nepal.[10][11]
In November 2020, Nepali politicians claimed China had annexed more than 150 hectares of Nepalese land.[12] The Nepali government in September 2021 formed a team under Home Ministry Joint Secretary Jaya Narayan Acharya to study dispute in LimiofNamkha Rural MunicipalityofHumla.[13] The committee comprised Deputy Director General of the Survey Department Sushil Dangol, Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police Umesh Raj Joshi, Senior Superintendent of Armed Police Force Pradip Kumar Pal, Joint Director of National Investigation Department Kishor Kumar Shrestha and Home Ministry Secretary Acharya. This team submitted its report on 26 September which brought the conclusion of claim being truth. It suggested making a joint force for dispute resolution.[14]
In early 2022, a Nepali government report was leaked. The report indicated the previously alleged buildings were on Chinese side, but found that China has built fences, a canal, and a road that encroached on Nepali soil.[20]
In 2012, Nepal and China agreed to open new ports of entry, to a total of six official ports. Three of the ports are designated as international ports, while three others are only designated for bilateral trade.[21]
The border crossing between Zhangmu and Kodari on the Friendship Highway has been in operation since 1968.[22] In 2014, the border crossing at Rasuwa Fort (Rasuwagadhi) was opened for commerce and then for foreign nationals from 2017.[6][23] In addition, this border crossing is being considered for a future rail crossing between the two countries.[24]
Other crossings, like the one at Burang-Hilsa near the western tripoint, while not widely accessible have been used for local trade between China and Nepal for many years.[25] Some of those crossings have become so important for local trade that in 2008, when Chinese tightened its border control during the Olympics, villages like Kimathanka faced food shortages due to disruption of local trade.[26]Korala, the latest border crossing to open, started operations in 2023.[27][28]
^Adhikari, Monalisa (2012). "Between the Dragon and the Elephant: Nepal's Neutrality Conundrum". Indian Journal of Asian Affairs. 25 (1/2): 85. JSTOR41950522.
^Office of the Geographer (1965): "The exact number of territorial disputes has never been ascertained, but as many as 20 sectors may have been involved. The most serious disputes were located at Rasu (north of Katmandu), Kimathanka in the east, Nara Pass, Tingribode near Mustang, Mount Everest, and the Nelu River. Most of these disputes were settled in favor of Nepal, although several favored China."
^Wang, Wenbin (3 November 2020). "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on November 3, 2020". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 5 March 2022. The Daily Telegraph: Nepalese politicians have said that Chinese soldiers annexed more than 150 hectares of land in five areas near the border it shares with China, including by diverting the flow of rivers to claim the previously submerged land. Can the foreign ministry please comment on this? Wang Wenbin: Were you referring to The Daily Telegraph's report? Follow-up: Yes. Wang Wenbin: The report you cited is a completely unfounded rumor.
^Bristow, Michael (8 February 2022). "China encroaching along Nepal border - report". BBC News. Retrieved 5 March 2022. In its report, passed to the BBC, the group found that surveillance activities by Chinese security forces had restricted religious activities on the Nepalese side of the border in a place called Lalungjong. ... In the same area, it found China was building a fence around a border pillar, and attempting to construct a canal and a road on the Nepalese side of the border. But the taskforce did find that Chinese buildings originally thought to have been constructed inside Nepal had, in fact, been built on the Chinese side of the border.
^ abc"中华人民共和国政府和尼泊尔政府关于边境口岸及其管理制度的协定" [China-Nepal Agreement on Port of Entry] (in Chinese). Chinese Embassy in Nepal. 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
^Buddhi Narayan Shrestha (2015-11-29). "Nepal-China Seven Border Crossing-points". Border Nepal Buddhi. Retrieved 2017-02-09. Kodari-Khasa has been in operation since 1968 for the transaction of trade and commerce. The second commercial border-point is the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung, which has come into use recently.
^Lobsang (2016-06-25). "Tibet Nepal Border Closedsalt". The Land of Snows. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-02-09. the new border crossing from Kyirong, Tibet to Rasuwaghadi, Nepal. Though this border crossing has NOT been opened to foreign travelers yet, this route has been open to traders from Nepal and China for much of the past year...
^Prithvi Man Shrestha; Jaya Bahadur Rokaya (2016-03-24). "Nepal, China rush to open Hilsa border". Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 2017-02-10. Hilsa is one of the six border points Nepal and China had agreed to open for international trade when former Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jibao visited Kathmandu in 2012.
^Budhathoki, Kishor (2008-06-04). "China seals border, villages on Nepali side face starvation". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2017-02-13. Starvation looms large in the northern parts of Sankhuwasabha district after China closed the Kimathanka check post
Tiwary, Chitra K. (2012), "China–Nepal Border: Potential Hot Spot?", in Bruce Elleman; Stephen Kotkin; Clive Schofield (eds.), Beijing's Power and China's Borders: Twenty Neighbors in Asia, Taylor and Francis, pp. 205–, ISBN9781317515647
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