Nepal seeks assistance from neighbors to bolster flood relief efforts

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Nepal seeks assistance from neighbors to bolster flood relief efforts

2026-08-30 10:24 Last Updated At：08-31 00:20

Nepal has requested professional rescue support from China and other neighboring countries to help with complex operations for flood victims, Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said on Saturday.

On Wednesday, a massive high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal triggered a catastrophic mudslide along its border with China, causing heavy casualties and left many people missing on both sides.

The glacier collapse also triggered a catastrophic flash flood in Nepal's Bhote Koshi River Wednesday morning, affecting three districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, officials said.

"As of today, over 4,451 people have been rescued from the region, including over 187 foreign nationals. So far, 626 bodies have been recovered from the area, and about 2,400 people are still unaccounted for," said Khanal.

He said the impact has been confined to particular regions of Nepal, and that tourist activities across most of the country are continuing.

"If Nepal would be unsafe to travel at this point -- I just wanted to highlight that Nepal is mostly open. (The) majority of our tourist destinations, including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lumbini, Chitwan, Janakpur, mountain areas with very popular entrepreneur regions, and Everest (Qomolangma) regions -- almost all of these areas are open. This particular disaster has had an impact on a particular location of Nepal. And I just wanted to highlight this particularly to our international media friends," said Khanal.

He emphasized that the Nepali government has reached out to neighboring countries, including China, for rescue assistance.

"As operations continue, we have requested specific and specialized assistance from our friendly neighbors, where such support can further strengthen our search and rescue efforts in areas such as opening the tunnel where people have been trapped, technologies that help us locate people alive in affected areas, quick forensic and DNA analysis, and mortuaries to keep the bodies. An 11-member specialized technical reconnaissance team for tunnel rescue from India has been mobilized, and a tunnel rescue team from China is expected to arrive very soon," said Khanal.

China urges EU to resolve mutual concerns through dialogue, consultation

China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday urged the European Union (EU) to face up to its own economic and trade problems and address mutual concerns through dialogue and consultation.

A spokesperson for the ministry made the remarks in response to a media query on its decision to launch anti-dumping investigations into imports of para-aramid filament yarns and ethylidene norbornene originating in the EU.

The two anti-dumping investigations were launched following applications from domestic industries, the spokesperson added.

Preliminary evidence provided by the applicants showed that from 2023 to the first half of 2026, imports of para-aramid filament yarns from the EU remained at a high level, with prices falling by more than 50 percent cumulatively.

Imports of ethylidene norbornene from the EU and other regions grew 27.35 percent cumulatively from 2023 to 2025, and rose 56 percent year on year in the first half of 2026, with prices trending downward.

The dumped imports have caused damage to the production and operations of the domestic industries, according to the applicants.

In accordance with Chinese law and WTO rules, these applications meet the conditions for filing anti-dumping investigations, the spokesperson said, adding that China will conduct investigations in accordance with laws and regulations, fully protect the rights of all interested parties, and make an objective and fair ruling.

The spokesperson noted that the EU has launched 16 trade remedy investigations against China since the start of 2026, nearly double the number from a year earlier, of which nine involve chemical products, accounting for nearly 60 percent. Since mid-October, the EU has successively launched anti-dumping investigations into Chinese products including furfuryl alcohol and polyvinylidene fluoride.

Compared with the EU's number of trade remedy cases against China, China has consistently exercised prudence and restraint in the trade remedy field, the spokesperson added.

Protectionism cannot enhance the EU's competitiveness, while dialogue and consultation are the right path to resolving mutual concerns, the spokesperson said.