"Khasa-Tatopani route has been shut for more than 8 months due to which our loaded vehicles are stranded there. If the roads connecting with both Tatopani and Rasuwa border are expanded and infrastructures are made intact, Nepal could gain more benefit from China," Shrestha, who is also former assistant minister for commerce and supplies, told Xinhua.
More than 1,500 entrepreneurs are dependent on China-Nepal border trade. Nepal exports mainly handicrafts, wooden artifacts and pashminas, among others, to China. In return, China has been providing duty-free access to more than 8,000 Nepali goods.
Aman Munankarmi, a handicraft artist based in Bhaktapur, told Xinhua "I am hopeful that I can organize more handicraft exhibitions in China in the new year which will promote Nepal's products and trading".
More than 15 Nepalese companies hold handicraft exhibitions in different cities of China like Beijing and Guangzhou almost every month.
Meanwhile, travel entrepreneurs and stakeholders, who have been reeling under huge loss owing to low number of tourists' arrival after the earthquake and fuel crisis, have also placed high hopes on the world's second largest economy.
The tourism industry will become hopeful if China can be the number one tourist source market for Nepal in the coming year. Their hope has been backed by the recent decision of the Nepali government to waive the visa fee for the Chinese tourists on par with the similar treatment to SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries.
Keshav Pandey, managing director at Green Park Resort located in popular tourism hub Chitwan, told Xinhua "Waiving of visa fee for Chinese tourists has brought some positivity to revive the business. If the visa policy is implemented well, I am sure a large number of Chinese tourists will visit us in the coming year."
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Nepal received 800,000 tourists in 2014, among which 123,805 were Chinese tourists. India, which is the first source market, sent 135,000 visitors to Nepal.
With the latest visa policy and more air connectivity between Nepal and Chinese cities, Nepal will embrace for a booming tourism in 2016.
"2015 was a problematic year for us in terms of both earthquake and Indian blockade. I hope tourism, which accounts for nearly 4 percent of the country's economy, will revive the loss in the coming year", Narendra Bilash Bajracharya, deputy director at Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square Conservation Program, told Xinhua.
