How Shanghai was pivotal to Nepal's aid projects during 1950s and 60s.
Shanghai's key role in Nepal's development, how China leveraged cities to implement its infrastructure aid projects, and more.
Context: This article is a combination of our analysis plus a research published by a Chinese researcher Yan Hongguo under Journal of Tibet Minzu University, who published recent paper analyzing Chinese cities like Shanghai’s history of assistance to Nepal. Full paper reference is provided below the article.
From the 1950s, before reform and opening up in 1978, China’s economic and administrative system was a highly centralized planning system. Yet cities like Shanghai continued to play the role of sub-national actors under China’s centralized foreign aid system, and the city was responsible for providing key technical support on Nepal’s infrastructure projects. This article will highlight city-level implementation aligned with China’s national political objectives, while also Nepal benefiting from Shanghai’s industrial and human capital advantages.
Why Shanghai? In much of the 19th century, Shanghai was the hub for Western powers and was an attractive place for foreign investments, thus enjoying high levels of human capital and technical development. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Shanghai was appointed as the national implementor of the Chinese government’s foreign assistance program due to its comprehensive industrial base, global experience, and political reliability.
As China’s leading industrial and economic hub, Shanghai assumed the role of an "implementor" of central government foreign aid, deploying its resources, expertise, and institutional capacity to deliver multi-faceted assistance to Nepal. This included the construction of complete industrial projects, the provision of equipment, the training of Nepali professionals, and the dispatch of technical experts. Shanghai's contributions significantly influenced Nepal’s infrastructure development and human capital formation.
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