Kathmandu and Beijing better friends thanks to Mount Everest
The foreign ministries of the two countries have announced accord on the height of the Himalayan giant: 8848.86 meters. In the past, China and Nepal differed by a few meters. For Xi Jinping the joint measure is "an eternal symbol of friendship between Nepal and China".
Kathmandu (AsiaNews / Agencies) - China and Nepal have finally found an agreement on the height of Mount Everest and the results were announced today. The height declared by the foreign ministers of the two countries is now 8848.86 meters.
The two sides have launched two different groups in recent months to establish the exact height of the highest peak in the world. Until now the difference between the two measurements was a few meters. This was due to the fact that for the Nepalese, for whom Everest is a national symbol, the height must also include the blanket of snow deposited on the summit; for the Chinese, on the other hand, only the rock must be measured.
For this reason, in the past in 2005, the Chinese measured a height of 8,844 meters; the Nepalese give a height of 8,848 meters, in line with the measurements established by an Indian team in 1954.
The joint initiative was sponsored by Chinese President Xi Jinping who, during his visit to the Himalayan country last year, called the shared height of Everest "an eternal symbol of friendship between Nepal and China".
Since the Khatmandu government has been dominated by the Nepalese Communist Party, relations with Beijing have intensified, removing the Himalayan country from Indian influence.
However, the opposition is far from staisfied. Last November, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, a deputy from the Nepali Congress, accused China of having seized a portion of Nepalese territory along the Himalayan border. The affected area is that of Limi (Humla district), on the border with Tibet. The two governments vehemently denied the accusation.
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