From 7 to 8 January, the two-day WCP Nepal - AIB South Asia Conference 2024 “Global Trade and South Asia: Competitiveness, Value Chains and ESG” was held at Kathmandu University in Nepal. Invited by WTO Chair in Nepal-Kathmandu University, also the organizer of the conference, Prof. Tu Xinquan, WTO Chairholder at UIBE, Dean of China Institute for WTO Studies, and Mr. Gao Jian (Dustin), WCP Coordinator at UIBE, went to Kathmandu, Nepal to attend the conference and gathered with nearly 100 experts, scholars and government officials from different countries to discuss global trade challenges and opportunities, international business environment, regional economic integration, global leadership, digital economy, international finance and trade competitiveness and other topics, and conduct discussions and communications on relevant academic papers. The conference was chaired by Prof. Achyut Wagle, Registrar of Kathmandu University and WTO Chairholder in Nepal. Dr. Zhang Xiangchen, Deputy Director General of the WTO, Narayan Prasad Sharma Duwadi, Secretary of Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of Nepal, Dr. Toya Narayan Gyawali, Member Secretary of the National Planning Commission of Nepal, and other government officials delivered speeches both offline and online.

Prof. Tu Xinquan, WTO Chairholder at UIBE and Dean of China Institute for WTO Studies gave a special report titled "China's Changing Position in Global Trade and Policy Choices" under the topic of global trade opportunities and challenges, received widespread attention and recognition from the experts, scholars and officials present, and continued exchanges and discussions during the coffee break. During the academic paper presentation and review session, Prof. Tu Xinquan also listened to 5 academic papers as well as commented and expressed his personal views on trade and environment, global industrial diversification, China-US trade relations and other related contents involved in the papers.

During the conference, the WCP Asia Chairs Meeting was held simultaneously. The WTO Chairholders and programme coordinators from Nepal, India and China participated in the meeting and discussed issues such as the annual report and activities plan of the Chairs and their trip to Abu Dhabi to attend the WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference at the end of February. Participants also put forward opinions and suggestions for future regional cooperation and exchanges, further deepening the consensus reached at the roundtable held in WTO Chair at UIBE in November last year. Shraddha Gautam, representative of the WTO Chairs Programme, attended the meeting on site and listened to all suggestions.

After the conference, on 9 January, Prof. Tu Xinquan and the delegation went to the main campus of Kathmandu University and had cordial meetings with its registrar and WTO Chairholder Prof. Achyut Wagle, Director of Engagement Division Prof. Uddhab Pyakurel and Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute Professor Li Shuangcheng. Specifically, they exchanged views on further cooperation in cultural exchanges, academic research, and talent training between the two WTO Chairs institutes.