The government has decided to send a high-level team to Beijing next week to discuss  with Chinese officials the protocol to Transit and Transportation Agreement signed during the first visit of KP Sharma Oli to China as the prime minister two years ago.

A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening decided to dispatch the team led by Chandra Ghimire, secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, with representatives from the Foreign Affairs, Law and Finance ministries as members. The team will hold talks with officials at the Chinese Ministry and Commerce in Beijing on July 10 and 11 for resolving the disagreements and disputes on the texts of the protocol prepared by both sides.

The team is authorised to sign the protocol if an agreement is reached but officials privy to negotiations said signing of the protocol is unlikely even when it concludes negotiations with the Chinese side.

In the wake of India’s border blockade in 2016, Oli signed the agreement in Beijing. It was believed to end landlocked Nepal’s longstanding dependence on Indian sea ports, and transit facilities.

Officials said Nepal’s and Chinese officials have been instructed to come up with a single report.

Nepal is looking for two land ports and three sea ports with China for third-country trade, officials said. There is no dispute over the use of Chinese land ports, said officials. But there were disagreements on using sea ports and the routes.