On March 31, 2005, King of Nepal Bhutan Gyanendra met cordially with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in the royal palace. Both sides exchanged opinions on bilateral ties and major current international and regional issues.

Gyanendra thanked China for its support for Nepal. He said that China is a reliable friend and Nepal firmly supports the one-China policy. Both countries should further reinforce cooperation in all fields and work hard to raise Nepal-China relations forged by the old generation of leaders of both countries to higher levels. Gyanendra expressed appreciation and support for China's important role in international and regional affairs and hope that China will grow increasingly strong and prosperous.

Li said that over the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Nepal the bilateral relations have been developing continuously. China expects to work with Nepal to deepen bilateral cooperation in economy and trade, cultural and other fields and strengthen communications in international affairs. China hopes that Nepal could play a more important role in international and regional affairs. Li thanked the government of Nepal for extending valuable support for China on the Taiwan and Tibet issues over years.

On the same day Li also held talks with his Nepali counterpart Ramesh Nath Pandey on furthering China-Nepal friendly cooperative relations. Prior to the meeting the two foreign ministers attended the ceremony of visiting and exchanging documents on the office building construction project of King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation assisted by the Chinese government.

Li Zhaoxing arrived at Kathmandu at noon, March 31, kicking off his two-day official visit to Nepal.