Chinese experts said that a strategic rail link between China and Nepal could be extended to India to improve interconnectivity with South Asia.

China has agreed to consider building a railway into Nepal, Reuters reported Monday. 

Hou Yanqi, deputy head of the Chinese foreign ministry's Asia Division, said Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Oli raised the possibility of two rail lines, one connecting three of Nepal's most important cities and one crossing the border from China into Nepal.

Hou said the government would encourage Chinese firms to look at the internal rail plan, and that China was already planning to extend the railway from the Tibetan city of Xigaze to Gyirong on the Nepali border.

"Building the rail line may encounter many difficulties as it will pass the seismic zone and the Himalayan Mountains. However, given the current technologies, it will not be a big problem," Wang Dehua, director of the Institute for Southern and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Center for International Studies, told the Global Times. 

Wang said at least $4 billion is needed for the project and is expected to be completed within five years.

Wang said the rail link could be a very good opportunity for the country to connect to India and would enhance bilateral relations. However, it all depends on India as the country fears that the railway may threaten its territory. 

Wang's views were echoed by Zhao Gancheng, director of South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, who said the railway may lessen Nepal's dependence on India but does not mean that China is trying to compete with India for influence on Nepal. 

Meeting at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Oli told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang he had "come to China with a special mission" to strengthen relations. The two countries signed 10 agreements, including a concessional loan for a new airport in Nepal's Pokhara and a feasibility study for oil and gas survey projects.