The Nepal Tea-Tasting Festival: Strengthening Nepal-China Cultural Bonds, co-hosted by the Nepali Embassy in China and the Silk Road Cities Alliance, was held on Friday in Beijing.

Dr Krishna Prasad Oli, Nepalese ambassador to China; Song Ronghua, executive chairman of the Silk Road Cities Alliance; Yuan Mindao, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; and Xu Xiaohu, vice president of China Chamber of Commerce of I/E Foodstuffs, Native Produce, and Animal By-products, attended the event along with dozens of Chinese officials and diplomats from various countries.

In his speech, Oli said that tea is a shared element in both Nepalese and Chinese cultures, with tea drinking becoming an important pastime in Nepal. Nepal's fertile soil, pure mountain air and rich biodiversity make it a producer of high-quality teas. After 160 years of development, Nepal has become the world's 16th largest tea producer, exporting tea to other Asian countries, as well as to Europe and America.

Oli added that the festival, the first public event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Nepal, aimed to promote cultural connections between the two close neighbors and trustworthy partners.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song said in a video speech that tea originated in China and has become an essential medium for cultural exchange.

He said that the last 70 years have seen China and Nepal respect each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect and accommodate each other's concerns and core interests, and sincerely support each other's chosen development paths, setting an example of peaceful coexistence between countries of different sizes and different social systems. He also expressed the hope of advancing China-Nepal relations in the new era to bring benefits to people in both countries.