China trying to rename Mount Everest? Beijing official calls it 'Chomolungma' over 10 times in 20-minute speech
At the inaugural session of Nepal's flagship climate dialogue,
Sagarmatha Sambaad
, Xiao Jie, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of
China
, repeatedly referred to
Mount Everest
by its Chinese name "
Chomolungma
", ANI reported. The event is named after the Nepali name for Everest, Sagarmatha, and was meant to underscore Nepal's stewardship of the world's tallest peak.
Despite the official title of the event, Xiao, who delivered the keynote address in Chinese (translated live into English), used the term 'Chomolungma' at least ten times during his 20-minute speech. According to ANI, other dignitaries and attendees consistently referred to the mountain as either Sagarmatha or Mount Everest.
An official from Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaking to ANI on condition of anonymity, said: 'We also noticed it, but we are in no power to say anything about it.'
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Present at the session were Nepal's Prime Minister
KP Sharma Oli
, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, among others. However, none of the senior officials commented publicly on the usage of the Chinese term during the high-level opening ceremony.
The incident comes days after PM Oli publicly urged the global community to recognise the mountain by its Nepali name, Sagarmatha, rather than foreign or alternative names. His silence on Xiao's repeated reference to the Chinese name raised eyebrows in diplomatic and public circles.
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The three-day Sagarmatha Sambaad, held in Kathmandu, is being attended by over 200 participants from across the world, including representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan, Qatar, Pakistan, the UK, and the UAE, as well as major international organisations like the United Nations, World Bank, ADB, SAARC, BIMSTEC, and ICIMOD.
Recently, India rejected China's continued efforts to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state remains an integral part of India.
With inputs from ANI
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