China congratulates Nepal on parliamentary election results: spokesman

China congratulates Nepal on the successful completion of its federal parliamentary election and the victory of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) as the largest party in the House of Representatives, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday.

Lin Jian, the spokesman, made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing in response to a question regarding Nepal's recent parliamentary election. On Thursday, Nepal's election commission submitted a comprehensive report on the March 5 federal parliamentary House of Representatives election to President Ram Chandra Poudel.

According to the official results released by the Nepali side, the RSP won 182 out of the 275 seats, becoming the largest party in the House of Representatives.

"China congratulates Nepal on completing the election for the House of Representatives of the federal parliament, and congratulates the Rastriya Swatantra Party on becoming the largest party in the House. China supports Nepal in pursuing a development path suits to its national conditions and hopes Nepal will smoothly advance its political agenda," Lin said.

"As a traditional friendly neighbor, China will, as always, support Nepal in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in achieving unity, stability and prosperity. We are willing to work with Nepal to carry forward our traditional friendship, deepen pragmatical cooperation, and promote sustained growth of the China-Nepal strategic cooperative partnership featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity," he said.

China congratulates Nepal on parliamentary election results: spokesman

China's commodity price index stood at 129.9 points in March, up 4 percent month on month and 14.5 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Sunday.

Among the 50 major commodities under key monitoring by the CFLP, 38 recorded a month-on-month price increase in March.

Specifically, diesel, methanol and ethylene glycol led the gains, rising 30.5 percent, 30.4 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively, from the previous month.

Affected by imported factors such as tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, China's energy and chemical price indices rose significantly, up 16.5 percent and 21.8 percent month on month, respectively.

Driven by rising international fertilizer prices and growing demand for biofuels, China's agricultural product price index increased by 2.8 percent month on month.

Analysts noted that the sharp rise in the commodity price index in March comes from factors such as the recovery of the domestic commodity market, the good outcomes of policies, and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Given the increasingly volatile international commodity prices and the rising uncertainties in importing energy, chemicals and other commodities, it is necessary to diversify the sources of raw materials, expand the use of alternative resources, and enhance the ability to resist and respond to risky factors that may cause fluctuation in markets, said the analysts.

China's commodity price index up 4 pct in March